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Ohio train de-railment, massive chemical spill/burn what's going with that?

amorphous_constellation

amorphous_constellation

Well-Known Member
I only heard about it yesterday, and this happened 10 days ago. It happened apparently, in east-Palestine ohio. Lots of fish and animals apparently dead or sick? A town of about 5000 residents, many told evacuate, but now told they can return? EPA says the environment is safe? A reporter was arrested?

Are the rail-lines under-maintained? Will this cause cancer? Will the smoke or contamination spread to other states? Is something about this under-reported? Will this affect crops? Drinking water?

 
John53

John53

I go leaps and bounds
Premium Member
ideogenous_mover said:
I only heard about it yesterday, and this happened 10 days ago. It happened apparently, in east-Palestine ohio. Lots of fish and animals apparently dead or sick? A town of about 5000 residents, many told evacuate, but now told they can return? EPA says the environment is safe? A reporter was arrested?

Are the rail-lines under-maintained? Will this cause cancer? Will the smoke or contamination spread to other states? Is something about this under-reported? Will this affect crops? Drinking water?

Click to expand...

It was on the news here in Australia a week or so back.
 
Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber & Business Owner
ideogenous_mover said:
I only heard about it yesterday, and this happened 10 days ago. It happened apparently, in east-Palestine ohio. Lots of fish and animals apparently dead or sick? A town of about 5000 residents, many told evacuate, but now told they can return? EPA says the environment is safe? A reporter was arrested?

Are the rail-lines under-maintained? Will this cause cancer? Will the smoke or contamination spread to other states? Is something about this under-reported? Will this affect crops? Drinking water?

Click to expand...
It does probably mean you need to expand your news scope a bit. It wasn't really underreported.
50-car train derailment sparks massive fire, mandatory evacuation order in Ohio
https://www.wtrf.com/news/ohio-head...ter-train-derailment-leads-to-fire-explosion/
Ohio train derailment: Controlled burn of toxic chemicals went 'as planned,' PA gov says
Evacuation order lifted for residents near where train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed | CNN
https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-new...-derailment/what-caused-the-train-derailment/
 
Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber & Business Owner
ideogenous_mover said:
I only heard about it yesterday, and this happened 10 days ago. It happened apparently, in east-Palestine ohio. Lots of fish and animals apparently dead or sick? A town of about 5000 residents, many told evacuate, but now told they can return? EPA says the environment is safe? A reporter was arrested?

Are the rail-lines under-maintained? Will this cause cancer? Will the smoke or contamination spread to other states? Is something about this under-reported? Will this affect crops? Drinking water?

Click to expand...
It does probably mean you need to expand your news scope a bit. It wasn't really underreported.
50-car train derailment sparks massive fire, mandatory evacuation order in Ohio
https://www.wtrf.com/news/ohio-head...ter-train-derailment-leads-to-fire-explosion/
Ohio train derailment: Controlled burn of toxic chemicals went 'as planned,' PA gov says
Evacuation order lifted for residents near where train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed | CNN
https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-new...-derailment/what-caused-the-train-derailment/
 
amorphous_constellation

amorphous_constellation

Well-Known Member
Shadow Wolf said:
It does probably mean you need to expand your news scope a bit. It wasn't really underreported.
Click to expand...

Ok. Well, what kind of conclusions are you drawing about this, are you optimistic that things were fixed, or is this something to maybe take continued concern of. By the way, your post doubled in the thread
 
Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
ideogenous_mover said:
I only heard about it yesterday, and this happened 10 days ago. It happened apparently, in east-Palestine ohio. Lots of fish and animals apparently dead or sick? A town of about 5000 residents, many told evacuate, but now told they can return? EPA says the environment is safe? A reporter was arrested?

Are the rail-lines under-maintained? Will this cause cancer? Will the smoke or contamination spread to other states? Is something about this under-reported? Will this affect crops? Drinking water?

Click to expand...

The Wiki article brought up some interesting points:


Impact and reactions[edit]
The train derailment reignited national discussion of industry working conditions and safety issues: lack of modern brake safety rules,[17] precision scheduled railroading (PSR),[18] reduced railway workers per train and increased train lengths and weight. Some have criticized train companies for failing to invest in train maintenance to prevent accidents, even as those companies conduct stock buybacks.[19]

Federal regulations and conflicts of interest[edit]
In response to multiple contemporary train derailments, including the 2012 derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in Paulsboro, New Jersey, new regulations were issued by the administration of then-President Barack Obama in 2015 requiring train companies to replace the brakes of trains carrying oil and certain flammable liquids, including chemicals, with electronically controlled pneumatic (or ECP) brakes. These regulations were intended to mitigate the damage of a potential future derailment and subsequent toxic spill. In 2018, amid lobbying efforts by the railway industry, the regulations on ECP brakes were repealed by the administration of then-President Donald Trump. This move has come under scrutiny, as Trump was the recipient of more than $6 million in campaign contributions from the railway industry while campaigning for President. Among those companies lobbying for the rule's repeal was Norfolk Southern, the company that operated the derailed train, leading some to criticize the appearance of a conflict of interest. At least one member of the Federal Railway Administration has stated that the accident was "preventable" had the train in question had ECP brakes, leading others to the conclusion that Norfolk Southern chose measures meant to lower costs in lieu of preventing hazard.

It seems that the train was not equipped with ECP brakes.
 
Subduction Zone

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
ideogenous_mover said:
It seems like lobbying has made an impact here, but what is your take on the possible environmental state as of now - we are to trust the epa assessment, right?
Click to expand...
The EPA will probably give an honest assessment. But as has been pointed out earlier, this is an infrastructure problem. This occurred in a relatively small town and though things could have been a crisis we were lucky and that did no occur. What if an accident like this occurred in a much higher population density area and then everything went wrong? This is why investing in the infrastructure is a must. It is not an option.
 
Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
ideogenous_mover said:
It seems like lobbying has made an impact here, but what is your take on the possible environmental state as of now - we are to trust the epa assessment, right?
Click to expand...

At this point, I can't really say. The EPA and other federal agencies have experts and access to resources and technology which should give them a fair idea as to whether the current situation is safe or not. Ohio and Pennsylvania likely also have their own agencies and resources so they can also check the area as well. They don't have to just trust one person or one agency, as there's likely multiple people and different agencies involved - state, local, and federal.
 
The Kilted Heathen

The Kilted Heathen

Crow FreyjasmaðR
Burning it (and thus releasing all those chemicals into the air in a much more deadly fashion) is quite likely what's causing people's pets (and I would assume soon people themselves) to die. Handling it properly may have been costly, but I wonder how much more they're going to lose in cleanup and lawsuits.
 
Subduction Zone

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
The Kilted Heathen said:
Burning it (and thus releasing all those chemicals into the air in a much more deadly fashion) is quite likely what's causing people's pets (and I would assume soon people themselves) to die. Handling it properly may have been costly, but I wonder how much more they're going to lose in cleanup and lawsuits.
Click to expand...
It is hard to say. They may have done a risk assessment and decided that was the safest way to treat those chemicals. If they entered the ground water that could be a problem for many years.
 
The Kilted Heathen

The Kilted Heathen

Crow FreyjasmaðR
Even if so, they could have been more forthcoming about evacuating people with clarity of the hazards, rather than saying "Sure, it's fine" while people's pets and local wildlife dies. That's causing the panic they assumedly hoped to avoid.
 
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