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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Train Wreck

toxic mushroom cloud over Ohio

Because Warren and I live on the Ohio River, we have been following with keen interest the ongoing story in the village of East Palestine, Ohio (What a wonderful public library they have!):

Also for your consideration:
On February 17, 2023, we read:
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that a chemical plume in the Ohio River from a train derailment in East Palestine has “completely dissipated,” according to the latest testing.

“We do believe that there’s no reason to be concerned about water from the Ohio River and there’s never really been a reason to be concerned,” he said during a news conference. 

Still, out of an abundance of caution, Greater Cincinnati Water Works said Friday they will close Cincinnati water intake and temporarily switch to water reserves before the plume arrives late Saturday or early Sunday.... 
Read the rest, and watch the embedded videos HERE


Do you believe all these official spokespersons who assure the people of East Palestine, Ohio, that the water and the air are safe for human consumption?

34 comments:

  1. Mayor Conway of East Palestine is a man who that our country should be of proud Aman that every American concerned about Americans not only says what all Americans are saying now but walks the Walk. Where as much of the Democratic Party today is talking about racism, and other crapola …And many of the politicians in the Democratic party of today are trying to divide Americans He is asking “where as patriotic Americans who want to unite us”? .

    We are in the midst of one of the worst economies in American history. People cannot afford to live in their own homes, people can’t afford to buy eggs or pay their rent, or other bills. yet we’re giving money away to countries we don’t even know what we are doing anymore !
    Our foreign policy is in shambles we used to have a foreign policy based on good morals we don’t have that now. We have a president that needs to be told what State he is speaking at, and needs to be shown how to walk off of the stage that he is speaking on. Or what is the name of his own staff! Why are we standing for this? The rest of the world is laughing at us while Biden fiddles while East Palestine Ohio burns!
    It’s no wonder that the East Palestine Mayor Slams Biden for his visiting Kyiv while he 'Slaps East Palestine Ohio in the Face.

    We are dealing with a corrupt administration in the United States right now. Had this train derailment occurred and a majority area like Harlem New York President Biden would himself have visited and he would’ve sent mayor Pete in there and it would’ve been a charade. That’s the country we live in. We have a terrible leader in this country. We have a president who has given over $112 BILLION to the Ukraine. And refused to help our own Citizen in America that are in deep trouble.
    Yes today we have a GRINNING, and CACKLING President, and Vice president who goes to Ukraine with a big smile giving them BILLIONS while the people of East Palestine suffer and they wonder if they’re gonna die from cancer in the next 5-10 years.

    Normal people call that CRAZY!

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  2. Trusting THIS administration is difficult if not IMPOSSIBLE when there is SO MUCH evidence of corruption, self-interest, and a lack of accountability in our Leader!

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  3. When will this CROOKED regime stop trying to blame Trump for every disaster on their watch?
    And start putting some of the Blame on Pete Buttigieg’s total INEPTNESS?

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    Replies
    1. Well Tom, Trump did withdraw a requirement for faster braking on trains that carry highly flammable materials.. And he did end regular safety audits that were required by railroads. He also prevented a pending rule to require hazardous material trains to have at least 2 crew members. He slashed EPA funding and he put a chemical industry CEO in charge of the EPA who made considerable corporate friendly changes.

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    2. Joe Amtrak never lessened regulations of the Railroad Industry? Who knew? And with a multi-trillion dollar Omnibus Spending Bill, never thought to give any of that helicopter money to the railroads for safety improvements? Wow. They must not have contributed enough to his Campaign.

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    3. And of course, that Braking system that Trump de-regulated worked just fine, according to NTSB. The real cause of the disaster was an overheated wheel bearing which was detected before the automated braking system was deployed which successfully stopped the train.

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    4. The environmental damage was all "precautionary" and perfomed long after the train had successfully been stopped....

      There were no reported fatalities or injuries caused directly by the derailment, and responders were able to mitigate the fire within two days. But rising temperatures in one tank car carrying vinyl chloride — a toxic chemical that grows especially volatile at high temperatures — prompted concerns of an uncontrolled explosion. To prevent that, responders evacuated residents of the immediate area and performed a "release and burn" of five tank cars' worth of the chemical, some 115,580 gallons..

      So instead of dumping the hazardous materials from one endangered car, they dumped 5 in an overabundance of caution.

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    5. The timeline sure points to incompetence...

      Feb. 3 — A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derails in East Palestine, Ohio.

      Feb. 4 — The EPA says it is responding to the derailment site. EPA begins air monitoring for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, which were on the train and can be harmful to people, according to the agency.

      Contractors with the EPA install booms and underflow dams to restrict the flow of contaminated water as well as contain and collect floating product to mitigate any possible impacts to the Sulphur Run and Leslie Run streams, they say.

      Feb. 5 — Gov. Mike DeWine activates the Ohio National Guard to assist local authorities.

      Officials issue a shelter-in-place order for the entire town of roughly 5,000 people. An evacuation order is issued for the area within a mile radius of the train crash near James Street, due to the risk of an explosion.

      EPA community air monitoring readings do not detect any contaminants of concern, they say. Norfolk Southern’s contractor continues to conduct air monitoring, the agency says.

      The National Transportation Safety Board is on scene to gather evidence and asks the community to submit photos or videos of the incident.

      NTSB conducts a one-mile walkthrough of track outside the hot zone and identify the point of derailment. Graham says the preliminary report is expected in four to eight weeks.

      NTSB conducts a one-mile walkthrough of track outside the hot zone and identify the point of derailment. Graham says the preliminary report is expected in four to eight weeks.

      Aeration pumps begin operating at three locations along Sulphur Run and the confluence with Leslie Run. Aeration helps treat contamination by injecting oxygen into the water. The East Palestine water treatment plant confirms there was no adverse effects to the plant, the EPA says. EPA and Norfolk Southern contractors collect surface water samples for analysis.


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    6. (cont)
      Feb. 6 — To prevent an explosion, Norfolk Southern launches a controlled burn of rail cars containing vinyl chloride. EPA air monitoring detects particulate matter resulting from the fire, the agency says.

      In addition to real-time air monitoring, the EPA says it is collecting air samples in conjunction with the 52nd Civil Support Team — a specialized unit of the Ohio National Guard — for analysis.

      The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency leads efforts to investigate and address possible impacts to Sulphur Run and Leslie Run, the agency says.

      Feb. 7 — Residents in the area are told they may smell odors coming from the site because the byproducts of the controlled burn have a low odor threshold – meaning people may smell these contaminants at levels much lower than what is considered hazardous, the EPA says.

      The EPA continues to perform air monitoring and work with Norfolk Southern, health departments and other responding agencies to develop procedures for safely reoccupying the evacuated areas.

      The 52nd Civil Service Team conducts air monitoring in three public administration buildings and collects air samples from each building, according to the EPA.

      The EPA says it is investigating a complaint of odors from the Darlington Township, Pennsylvania, fire station. A team with air monitoring equipment goes to the station, where it does not observe any contaminants above detection limits.

      Feb. 8 — The evacuation order is lifted, five days after the derailment, after water samples are analyzed overnight. The results lead officials to deem the water is safe, East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick says at a news conference.

      The EPA and Ohio EPA find spilled materials in Sulphur Run, the EPA says. Oily product is leaking from a tank car and pooling onto the soil. Norfolk Southern is notified of the spill and begins removing the product using a vacuum truck.

      A local couple and business owner file the first-class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, CNN reports. The suit accuses the rail company of negligence, stating it failed to exercise reasonable care for residents, with businesses adversely affected by the derailment and chemical spill.

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    7. Helluva effort FJ but ultimately you came up short against Trump's corruption which caused this mess. And probably more to come.

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    8. ^^Offers no evidence supporting "Trump's corruption" accusations^^

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    9. Trump did withdraw a requirement for faster braking on trains that carry highly flammable materials.. And he did end regular safety audits that were required by railroads. He also prevented a pending rule to require hazardous material trains to have at least 2 crew members. He slashed EPA funding and he put a chemical industry CEO in charge of the EPA who made considerable corporate friendly changes.

      Delete
  4. After waiting 10 days to EVEN MENTION the Train Wreck Disaster at all, Pete Buttigieg's tweets were MUCH too little and a lot too late.
    How about, instead of tweeting about it, DO SOMETHING to help those poor people. Like getting your pathetic arse down there and HELP THOSE PEOPLE.!

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    Replies
    1. And Trump has the audacity to show his face in the town and politicize this after his repeals caused this. Yeah, blame Pete. You got nothing.

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  5. This little town is 97 percent are white and voted for Trump. I would not count on much truth from the Feds, or much help.

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    Replies
    1. A load of crap.

      Did DeWine specifically request the Federal Government's help? If not Biden has no authority to simply intervene. Any more that tRump had.

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    2. That fool DeWine has rejected Fed's help.

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    3. Interstate commerce isn't the fed's jurisdictional bailiwick? Who knew?

      Delete
  6. Off Topic, please excuse me. It’s important
    By Julie Kelly
    February 20, 2023
    According to an exclusive posted on Axios today, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has turned over the full trove of surveillance video captured by Capitol police security cameras on January 6 to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

    “Carlson TV producers were on Capitol Hill last week to begin digging through the trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over Capitol grounds,” Mike Allen reported. “Excerpts will begin airing in the coming weeks.”

    American Greatness first reported on the massive trove of security video in May 2021. Since then, several lawmakers including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have called for the public release of 14,000 of footage related to the events of January 6.

    McCarthy told reporters on January 12 that he supported making the tapes public. “I think the American public should see all what happened instead of a report that’s written for a political basis,” McCarthy said, referring to the January 6 select committee’s final report.

    In March 2021, the Justice Department designated the footage as “highly sensitive government material” subject to strict protective orders. Defendants and their lawyers have complained about lack of access to the surveillance video; a digital platform to archive all footage was delayed for months. Those protective orders, however, did not apply to House Democrats, who accessed surveillance clips to use in the second impeachment of Donald Trump and the January 6 select committee.

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  7. The whole thing is HORRIBLE and I'm hoping against hope that many cities are looking closely at train tracks, etc...and what's shipped on them. E Palestine's mayor seems like a good man and very rightfully upset....how could Biden go to UKRAINE first, before he went to at least try to calm the E Palestine folks in so much trouble? Trump's going tomorrow........so, suddenly, today the Biden folks showed up to drink water in an inhabitant's house... Acosta, on CNN, was VERY sad about Trump going to E Palestine...he said "It's horrible that Trump thinks talking about voting fraud is going to help those people." WHAT? Who said that's what he's talking about? :-) I don't know what to think of the future there...earth, water....? People have invested their money in their homes...and, today, they're thinking they now have to stay there and will never be able to sell. We need to make sure something happens for them; not a measly $1K the train company's offering.

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  8. What is going on. Pollution doesnt count when Dems are in charge.
    Thousands of kids in cages not a peep. 64 illigal aliens in Marthas vinyard 24/7 coverage but 50k in Nyc per biden nothing

    Bull crap

    I am starting to think Jimmy Dore was onto the real reason the left went nuts over Trump. He wanted to end Nato and told the intelligence agencies they were bullshitters.

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  9. Just days after this accident A Norfolk Southern train derailed a couple miles from our house.
    Several tank cars went off the rails.
    Fortunately none spilled.
    Who are the majority shareholders of Norfolk Southern?
    #1 Vanguard
    #2 Black Rock
    Don't expect much from their client president.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous,
      Comment deleted because of ad hominem attack (name calling) on another blogger, albeit a blogger who is clearly not a friend of this job.
      I do agree with the rest of your comment.

      Delete
  10. Apparently. Biden, and Biden's administration (and the MSM) is blaming Trump for the train wreck in East Palestine environmental catastrophe. Not the Norfolk and Southern RR. They bombed the resultant wreck and caused this; Biden could have changed the laws. The COWARD Pete Buttigieg could have also stood up and changed the laws. But they did like any coward would do : POINT FINGERS AT SOMEONE ELSE...and BLAME THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION

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    Replies
    1. THREE WEEKS after the disaster in Easy Palestine Ohio, Secretary of Transportation Pete "the coward" Buttigieg was spotted and approached by a journalist in Washington DC.
      Buttigieg's Message to Ohio: 'I'm Taking Some Personal Time'​
      Jordan Boyd, The Federalist February 22, 2023

      'Right now I'm taking some personal time and I'm walking down the street Buttigieg said when asked about his message to struggling Ohioans.

      Delete
    2. Real cause... incompetence (as usual):

      There were no reported fatalities or injuries caused directly by the derailment, and responders were able to mitigate the fire within two days. But rising temperatures in one tank car carrying vinyl chloride — a toxic chemical that grows especially volatile at high temperatures — prompted concerns of an uncontrolled explosion. To prevent that, responders evacuated residents of the immediate area and performed a "release and burn" of five tank cars' worth of the chemical, some 115,580 gallons.

      Disaster timeline

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    3. Ed - No Doubt About IT; The US IS UNDER ATTACK!

      Delete
  11. I never believe an official spokesperson ... especially if they're from the government.

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  12. I watched Bannon's show on Real Americas Voice. He had John Frederick reporting from an event in PA about 21 miles east of East Palestine that the PA State Senate held with PA residents. It seems they are having issues of rashes, welts, problems with water, and breathing.
    It is not clear how far this plume from the burn took the issues and how much of water and soil has been affected. Many in a wide area use wells that will be affected by soil later. The railroad already replaced the tracks and are running trains again, but the soil has not been replaced.

    ReplyDelete

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