xi's moments
Home | Americas

Derailment used as political blame game

By AI HEPING in New York | China Daily Global | Updated: 2023-02-27 09:49

A burnt container is seen at the site where toxic chemicals were spilled following a train derailment, in East Palestine, Ohio, US, Feb 15, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]

After toxic spill, locals are feeling sick, and politicians are pointing fingers

In Texas it is the disposal of toxic wastewater in a Houston suburb that has sparked concern; in Michigan it is contaminated soil.

And in East Palestine, Ohio, where that wastewater and soil came from after the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that spilled toxic chemicals this month, for some of its 4,700 residents it is rashes, finding it difficult to breathe, feeling sick and smelling noxious odors.

However, the impact of the derailment has gone beyond possible health issues for residents of the small town on the Pennsylvania border. The derailment on Feb 4 has become a political issue, with finger pointing by both Republicans and Democrats.

It prompted a rebuke from Jennifer Homendy, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, when she delivered a preliminary report about the derailment on Thursday.

"Enough with the politics," she said. "I don't understand why this has gotten so political. This is a community that is suffering. This is not about politics. This is about addressing their needs, their concerns."

Over the years railway companies have spent millions on lobbying to kill or water down bills in Congress and in state legislatures that aim to implement any further safety standards. The American Association of Railroads said that 99.9 percent of all hazardous materials shipments reach their destination without incident and that the accident rate with such materials has fallen by 55 percent since 2012.

More than a dozen rail accidents have taken place in the US this year. The East Palestine accident was not the first in Ohio this year, Newsweek reported. Another derailment occurred on Jan 19 between the towns of Trinway and Adam's Mill. In that accident an Ohio Central Railroad train with 97 cars and stretching almost 2 kilometers slid off the rails, though they were empty so there was no leaked cargo, and no one was hurt.

The cause of the derailment in East Palestine is still being investigated, but the preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report pointed to an overheated wheel bearing. The driver tried to stop the train after an alarm sounded about the overheating wheel just before it went off the tracks, but by that time several cars had already come off the tracks, the report said. There is no evidence the crew did anything wrong, it said.

More than three weeks after the derailment the finger pointing has continued.

House Oversight Committee Republicans are starting an investigation into the derailment. Republicans have criticized the Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for not visiting the site until nearly three weeks after the derailment. On Thursday he visited East Palestine and acknowledged he could have responded publicly more quickly.

Late response criticized

At least one Democrat has joined Republicans in criticizing the Biden administration for the timing of its response.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, whose state sits on the border with Ohio, said it is "unacceptable that it took nearly two weeks for a senior administration official to show up", referring to the Environmental Protection Agency head Michael Regan visiting the site on Feb 16. "The damage done to East Palestine and the surrounding region is awful, and it's past time for those responsible to step up to the plate."

On Wednesday the former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump went to Columbiana county, in which East Palestine is located, and where he won the county with 72 percent of the presidential election in 2020, against Joe Biden's 27 percent.

He handed out Trump-branded bottles of water and campaign hats, and criticized Biden for making a surprise visit to Ukraine on Feb 20.

The Biden administration has countered the Republican attacks with charges of lax regulation by the Republicans in Congress for the freight railroad industry, including the Trump administration's suspension in 2017 of a requirement that trains carrying flammable liquids be equipped with faster brakes. No evidence has been produced that having them in place would have prevented what happened in East Palestine.

The White House has also defended its response to the derailment, saying officials of the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies were at the site within hours of the derailment.

On Friday Biden said he has no plans to visit East Palestine and rejected charges that his administration was slow to respond to the spill and has not been present in providing assistance.

Also on Friday he directed employees of federal agencies to go door-to-door in East Palestine by Monday to check on families affected by the derailment. The immediate goal was to visit at least 400, officials said. Workers will ask how residents are doing, see what they need and connect them with appropriate resources from government and nonprofit organizations, the White House said.

Environmental Protection Agency and state officials have said East Palestine's municipal water is safe to drink. Indoor air quality screenings from more than 550 homes did not exceed safety standards, and air quality in the community remains "normal", the agency said.

Federal agencies have begun switching from an initial emergency response phase to a remediation phase. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel have also arrived to help with the cleanup and to address community concerns.

Three weeks after the derailment, the area surrounding the site is "definitely looking better", said Anne Vogel, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency has installed wells near the city's municipal well field to monitor contaminants in well water as part of the agency's long-term early detection system "to protect the city for years to come", she said.

However, the full scope of any health consequences related to the derailment and spill of toxic chemicals remain unclear.

Norfolk Southern Railway has said it will establish a $1 million charitable fund to help the community, which includes providing more than 100 air purifiers for residents to use in their homes.

Agencies contributed to this story.

Global Edition
BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349