American Chernobyl
by C. A. Matthews
"A society that prohibits the capacity to speak in truth extinguishes the capacity to live in justice." --Chris Hedges
I
didn’t hear about the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio,
until the day after it occurred. Little was mentioned on our local
news stations, located
on the opposite side of the same state. Even then, there was just a
brief account:
“A train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in a small town near
the Pennsylvania state line.” My
husband and I watched the mainstream TV news story and didn’t
think it could be too bad since no deaths or injuries were reported. Ohio has thousands of small towns. It has
thousands of miles of railroad tracks crisscrossing it. We
used to live in a small Ohio town with a “triangle” of railroad
crossings. These things
happen.
Three days later, the railroad
owners, Norfolk Southern, decided to burn off the hazardous chemicals
that had leaked from
some of the derailed cars. These cars carried
vinyl chloride, butyl
acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl.
When vinyl chloride
burns, it attaches itself to the
water molecules
in the air and creates hydrochloric acid. It
then rains down on everything and everyone in its path. You might be
familiar with its common name, acid rain. Burning vinyl chloride also creates phosgene, a toxic colorless gas that killed many soldiers in World War I.
Mainstream media didn't tell us about how the townspeople
were harmed by the chemicals burning, but independent journalists on
the ground told a
grim story. They paint
a very frightening picture of how toxic chemicals are
affecting the air, water, and soil. They inform us of wildlife, fish,
pets, and livestock that
are sick or
dead. Townspeople
describe on camera how their lungs felt like they were on fire, how they became
nauseous and vomited or suffered from diarrhea, headaches, severe
nose bleeds, difficulty breathing, and skin rashes after authorities told them there was nothing to fear from the
chemicals being burned, their drinking water supply was fine, and
they all could
safely return to their homes.
Some have described what
they’ve seen in East
Palestine, Ohio
as an “American
Chernobyl.” Nuclear
radiation lasts for
millennia,
but hazardous wastes pollution can last just as long through many human lifetimes
in the forms of cancers
and gene mutations passed
on from one generation to another.
“They chemically
nuked East Palestine,” said one observer. Yes, they really
did.
The most important thing mainstream media
didn’t tell us is that
the
derailed chemical
cars set on fire
weren’t a “controlled
burn.” There’s no such term as
a “controlled burn”
according to a hazmat worker interviewed on a Youngstown area TV
news station. They’re
called “prescribed burns” by professionals because they know fire can never be totally controlled.
No
government official or agency
gave Norfolk Southern
permission to do a
prescribed burn of the chemicals anyway.
The
railroad CEOs
should have hired
tanker trucks to siphon off the remaining chemicals, none
of which had caught on fire
after the derailment. But that would have taken
time and no small
amount of money hiring enough tanker trucks and hazmat workers to do the
job. Norfolk
Southern chose the burning method because
it was the
cheapest and
fastest
way to clean up the mess and get the train cars
out of the way so the
rail line could open again and generate profits.
In other words, the
railroad
went with the quickest, least
expensive, most
environmentally unfriendly to all living things method possible. Why? Because it could.
US Secretary of
Transportation, Pete Buttigeig kept
quiet about the derailment incident for over a week, but told reporters,
“Derailments
happen every day.”
He still
won’t answer questions as to why the Biden Administration hasn’t
reinstated air braking safety procedures that were deregulated under
the Trump Administration. Two years on
and the safety precautions rail
workers have
demanded still haven't been put
into place. These are the same rail workers who where
denied the right to strike and have paid sick days by Congress this past December.
Also, a very hush-hush upcoming court case could have very well played into the federal government's non-response to the train derailment:
In the case against Norfolk Southern, the Biden administration
is siding with the railroad in its conflict with a cancer-stricken
former rail worker. A high court ruling for Norfolk Southern could
create a national precedent limiting where workers and consumers can
bring cases against corporations. From Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk
Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits
With the Biden Administration's backing of this case to block lawsuits, the people harmed in East Palestine and elsewhere might not even be able to sue Norfolk Southern for damages. It seems like the federal government was expecting a disaster like this one to occur and wanted to protect corporations like Norfolk Southern more than seek justice for injured working class people. Never forget that.
At the end of the day, who
pays the price for
this unfortunate derailment and consequent “prescribed burn” of
hazardous chemicals?
Not the CEO of Norfolk Southern, a corporation that made record
profits last year and
even boosted shareholder payouts of
4,500%. Norfolk Southern
also cut their rail employees by 33%, and smaller crews and
less maintenance could
have led to this
train being derailed. But
we’re supposed to feel sympathy for poor ol' Norfolk
Southern, a corporation that pledged to give the entire town of East
Palestine a measly $25,000, or $5 a person, for the “inconvenience” of
breathing in toxic
chemicals and
having their water supply tainted with even
more hazardous wastes
from the burn.
Railroad lines are owned
by private corporations in the US. That concept
is difficult for people
in many other countries to understand. Even
in the United States, highways and bridges
are generally considered public infrastructure paid for and maintained with our tax dollars, but
railroad tracks
are privately owned and operated.
What
the railroads
do with the freight they haul and
how they maintain
their tracks are their
business. It’s all a
private concern of Norfolk Southern even
if their preferred clean up method has put the health and safety of
all life in the Ohio River watershed at
risk.
Cincinnati-area water intake has been shut off, exposing the less than truthful statement made by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that Ohio River water is safe to drink:
The presence of chemicals from the spill in the Ohio River at any level
is a worrying development. The Ohio River basin drains an area where
approximately 25 million people live, and several cities lie along its
course, including Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky, with metro
populations of 2.3 million and 1.4 million, respectively.
It is also one of the largest tributaries of the Mississippi River.
Major cities downriver from where the Ohio River empties into the lower
Mississippi include Memphis, Tennessee (metro population of 1.3
million); Baton Rouge (870,000) and New Orleans (1.3 million),
Louisiana. Cincinnati-area Water Districts Shut Off Intake from the Ohio River Due to Contamination from East Palestine Derailment
Capitalism says, “Privatize the profits and socialize the costs.” The costs will
be "rare forms of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), primary liver, brain
and lung cancer, which are designated as solid organ tumors. However,
it can also lead to leukemia and lymphomas"
for the people living in East
Palestine and even
further downstream as toxins drain into
creeks and
rivers and fall onto
livestock and farm
fields. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates 3,500 fish have been killed so far by the contaminated runoff after the derailment. But hey! Norfolk Southern made $3.2 billion in profits this past year and are on track to make even more for its shareholders.
Rich people get
richer, a whole lot richer. Who really cares if millions of Rust Belters potentially
have had their lives
and livelihoods cut short?
If
not for the dogged independent journalists, the rest of us might
never have known how many of
our fellow human beings
have been harmed, or
will be harmed, by this toxic chemical burn by Norfolk Southern.
We might never have known how the chemicals traveled
through the air as acid rain and then fell
onto productive
farmland and into
the water supply for
millions. We might
never have known why so many cancers popped up in eastern Ohio,
western Pennsylvania, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.
Without “indie journos” interviewing the people
harmed by the chemical burn, we would have never known
the extent of this entirely man-made, preventable disaster, now known
to be the largest of its kind in US history.
Railroad companies have one of the biggest lobbyist groups in Washington DC. Private
corporations such
as Norfolk Southern shouldn’t be dictating public policy to US
government officials, but they do. The finger-pointing has begun
and heads should roll for not changing the unsafe regulations in
regard to train car maintenance, train length, and air
braking, but never
fear! Railroad profits
will reign supreme over the public’s safety. They always do.
Without independent journalists we’d
never know why so many suffer because
of capitalism’s dictate:
Privatize the profits and
socialize the costs. Keep
the public in the dark.
But We the People can fight back.
This story is ongoing, and
here’s your assignment as a citizen journalist/activist: Keep an
eye out in the mainstream media for how much (or how little) this
train derailment and consequent chemical burn in East Palestine,
Ohio, is mentioned. Search for stories about the environmental fallout
throughout the eastern US. If very few or only “positive” statements
about how Norfolk
Southern is handling the situation are
made, check out who is buying commercial time
on the network, program, magazine and/or website. If they’re broadcasting ads for Norfolk Southern
and related concerns such
as Big Oil (think diesel engines),
then realize that anything these so-call news anchors are telling
the public
is suspect.
Always follow the money and consider who has the most
to gain or lose by the truth being told or
not told. Just last night on a local TV newscast I caught a "positive" story of how "sorry" the CEO of Norfolk Southern felt about the disaster in East Palestine. Nothing mentioned about the health concerns of the public, just how sorry Mr. Moneybags felt. Mainstream media does a great job covering up for our government's lack of concern for our health and safety, doesn't it?
I encourage you to
get out of your comfort
zone and check out indie podcasters and blogs to see
what else you can learn about unfolding events. Even now class
action suits are starting to form against Norfolk Southern, so keep an ear open to how the current court case blocking such lawsuits against the railroad is going.
How are the people hurt
directly by the toxic chemical burn fighting
back? Can you help them? Can
you spread their message to others? Be
creative.
After this piece I’ll
list article and video links on
this topic and well as a couple of others.
Compare and contrast what “indie journos” are saying against what
the well-paid and well-coiffed “newsreaders” of
the mainstream media outlets (especially TV)
say on a particular
topic. Ask yourself about what is being said. More importantly, ask what is being
left unsaid.
Remember: “Derailments
happen every day.” The
next one could happen
near your home. It could involve train cars full of
hazardous chemicals. Would you like it if they were burned and transformed into a
dark cloud of carcinogens and acid rain that rains
down on you and your neighbors?
And last week’s TRC
posting discussed how an award-winning independent journalist
uncovered the who, how, what, when, where and why of the Nordstream 2
pipeline explosions: Pay For Your Own Wars, Big Oil! Compare and
contrast the mainstream media coverage of the pipelines’ sabotage. What did the MSM journalists originally leave out of their stories about the NordStream? Why did
they avoid investigating deeply into who had the strongest motive to
take out the pipeline and lessen the competition for liquefied
natural gas in Europe? Why did they continually repeat the
US government’s propaganda? What was in it for them to turn a blind eye?
Citizen journalists never
stop questioning!
Related Links:
UPDATE: Poison and Private Police: Norfolk Southern Destroys East Palestine https://odysee.com/@TheGrayzone:c/poison-and-private-police-norfolk:a
A Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews To Ignore Safety Alerts https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/23/a-norfolk-southern-policy-lets-officials-order-crews-to-ignore-safety-alerts/
Cincinnati-area Water Districts Shut Off Intake from the Ohio River Due to Contamination from East Palestine Derailment https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/20/eubz-f20.html
IN FULL DETAIL: They Won’t
Tell You This About Ohio Train Derailment (Video) Caution: contains
images of dead chickens. Richard Medhurst as a Brit gives us good
insights into how American capitalism so readily puts corporate
profits before people’s safety. https://youtu.be/HDFXHYGF7T0
Worried About Toxins in East Palestine Water?
Every
year, there are more than 1,000 derailments in the United States, an
average of around three per day. In only the short time since the
disaster in East Palestine, a derailment occurred in Houston, Texas,
which led to one death, and another in Van Buren Township, Michigan,
which involved the derailment of another chemical car.
The reasons for this high rate of accidents are well-known to
120,000 railroaders in the US. The locomotives, railroads and
workforce have been driven into the ground by years of cost-cutting
by management. Trains have been lengthened to up to three miles long,
controlled by only two people. Because of Precision Scheduled
Railroading and similar attendance policies, workers are often forced
to operate these massive machines with only a couple of hours of
sleep.
The train involved in the derailment in East Palestine, known as
32N or “32 Nasty” among train crews, was long known to be
particularly dangerous.
This has not only endangered railroad workers, but the public as a
whole. But the more the railroads have been driven to the brink of
collapse and the more communities along the railroads are endangered,
the higher the railroads’ profits go up.
The railroad industry is the most profitable industry in America.
Last year, Norfolk Southern reported profits of $3.2 billion, a
record for the company. Rather than investing in infrastructure, let
alone improving the conditions for workers, the company has spent $18
billion over the past five years in stock buybacks and dividends,
that is, handouts to investors. The same pattern is present in all
the major rail companies.
* * *
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A deadly toxic spill could pollute the water supply of millions. Let’s make sure the reckless company responsible for this disaster, Norfolk Southern, foots the bill for the clean up!
Sign the petition
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Last week a toxin-filled freight train slid off the rails spilling poisonous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. But the rail operator responsible, Norfolk Southern, is already trying to dodge responsibility for cleaning up this toxic mess.
The derailed train was carrying five
train-car loads of a cancer-causing chemical called vinyl chloride,
which is linked to an increased risk of rare brain and liver cancers.
Yesterday the Environmental Protection
Agency confirmed the chemical has seeped into the Ohio river basin -
which supplies water to millions. Thousands of fish have been found
dead.
Barely anyone knows that Norfolk Southern is responsible for this terrible disaster
- but if we put the public spotlight on the company and demand it
covers the clean up bill, the company won’t be able to walk away scot
free.
Tell Norfolk Southern to foot the bill for this toxic spill
Behind the scenes, panicking Norfolk
Southern execs know that they could be facing eye watering fines and
massive lawsuits - which is why they’re trying to buy off residents with $1000 ‘inconvenience’ checks in return for residents waiving any future claim against the company.
These shady tactics are true to form
for a company that for years has put profit over safety. Norfolk
Southern has slashed jobs and lobbied against better safety measures on
the railways, all the while paying out millions to shareholders.
Railroad Workers United said last week’s tragedy was a disaster years in
the making.
In 2012 a train crashed in Paulsboro,
New Jersey spilling tens of thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride - two
years later over half the residents reported health problems. Five times that amount of vinyl chloride was spilled in East Palestine.
We won’t know the true impact of this
catastrophe for some time but we do know that Norfolk Southern must
publicly commit to covering the full cost.
Tell Norfolk Southern to foot the bill for this toxic spill
We’ve taken on some of the biggest
corporate criminals before and won. When Bangladeshi workers lost their
lives at the Rana Plaza garment factory, the Ekō community held global
fashion giant H&M to account.
Now let’s do it again and force this billion-dollar company to pay up.  Sign the petition
Thanks for all that you do,
Vicky and the team at Ekō
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