Biden and Buttigieg AWOL Over East Ohio Train Derailment

A train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, 2023. Ten tankers contained hazardous chemicals, including five with vinyl chloride. The residents were evacuated, but a week later were told it was safe to return. But many are now experiencing headaches, rashes, burning eyes, breathing problems, and other ailments, while wildlife and farm animals are turning up dead. The risk extends to those of us living east of the derailment site in western Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has never mentioned the disaster. His Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is too concerned about wokism to pay much attention. It took him ten days to even say anything about it. In the meantime, the residents are suffering, and we are all concerned for our health.

The Background

No one was injured when about 50 cars derailed in a fiery, mangled mess on the outskirts of East Palestine on Feb. 3. As fears grew about a potential explosion, officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast had the area evacuated and opted to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke billowing into the sky again (Trib Live. East Palestine residents seek).

About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders were reported.

“No one was injured” immediately, as it was a freight not passenger train. But with the chemicals we’re breathing, no one yet knows if there will be long-term health consequences, especially for those living in the immediate area. Note also, the train was not labeled as carrying hazardous chemicals, since only 10 of the 150 cars on the train were carrying such chemicals. That is an insane rule considering what those ten cars were carrying.

Five were transporting vinyl chloride, which is used to make the polyvinyl chloride hard plastic resin in plastic products and is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal government’s National Cancer Institute (Newsmax. Release).

Residents of East Palestine and surrounding areas might not know for years if they were harmed, as it can take years for cancer to develop.

The Response and a Billow of Smoke

Crews began releasing toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday [2/6/23] after warning residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death.

Flames and black smoke billowed high into the sky from the derailment site late in the afternoon, about an hour after authorities said the controlled release would begin. The Ohio Emergency Management Agency confirmed the release was underway.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier ordered evacuations in the area of the derailment that has been smoldering since Friday night [2/3/23]. Authorities believe most, if not all, residents in the danger zone had left but they were knocking on doors one more time before releasing the vinyl chloride inside the cars, he said (Newsmax. Release).

During the controlled burn, a dark mushroom cloud formed over East Palestine as phosgene and hydrogen chloride were released into the air.

These chemicals are associated with various health risks. Vinyl chloride is linked to increased risk of numerous cancers; phosgene is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular problems; and hydrogen chloride is linked to skin, eye and respiratory irritation (Trib Live. Lawsuit).

Yes, residents left, which was good. But when I saw that massive billow of smoke on TV, I began wondering if it might drift my way, as I live southeast of East Palestine. I have a friend who lives much closer, just across the state line in Beaver County, PA, whom I was concerned about. I told her, if I lived where she does, I’d be hiding in my home, with the windows and doors locked shut.

Making matters worse, there was a temperature inversion during the time of that “controlled burn.” That kept the smoke from dissipating upward. You could see on the long-range shots the smoke flattening and spreading out and staying close to the ground rather than going upward. My local newscast said it would be several hours before that inversion ceased. That kept all of those chemicals close to the ground and over an extended area for a prolonged amount of time. It just was not good timing for the burn.

Safe to Return?

A week after the derailment and that massive billow of smoke, residents were told it was safe to return to their homes. I remember thinking, there is no way I would trust the authorities that everything was safe and return to my home if I lived there. And very sadly, I was proven correct in that hesitation.

Another of the substances released was phosgene, a gas deployed as a chemical weapon across First World War battlefields.

A list of the cars involved in the derailment and the products they were carrying since released by Norfolk Southern reveals several more toxic chemicals than first made apparent following the crash, ABC News reports.

Among the substances were ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene also in the rail cars that were derailed, the NBC News list shows.

Contact with ethylhexyl acrylate, a carcinogen, can cause burning and irritation of the skin and eyes, and inhalation can irritate the nose and throat, causing shortness of breath and coughing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Residents may still smell odors from the site,” the EPA said, suggesting that those experiencing any symptoms call their medical provider.

One resident in the town of North Lima, around ten miles from the train derailment, reported that her six chickens died in the days after the fire….

Dead fish were also observed floating in local streams with activists now calling for a fuller, more public admission of the exact nature of the polluting cargo (Breitbart. Health Concerns).

“You just can’t believe it from what you’re seeing. There’s dead animals, there’s dead fish. From going back to my home to retrieve items we’ve experienced bloody noses, throwing up, burning noses, burning eyes, … nausea, drowsiness, and … whenever you experience these things yourself, it does not feel safe. Like at all” (Newsmax. Ohio Resident, ellipses in orignal).

One of the Ohio town’s residents, Maura Todd, is questioning the repeated assurances from federal and local authorities that the air quality is safe and that the water supply is untainted.

“I’ve watched every news conference, and I haven’t heard anything that makes me think that this is a data-driven decision,” Todd told The Washington Post. “We don’t feel like we have a whole lot of information.” …

One of East Palestine’s residents, Eric Whitining, who returned to his home after the evacuation order was lifted, told The Post that some nights the air smells like an “over-chlorinated swimming pool,” causing his eyes to burn.

“For a small town, we have to trust them, because what else do we have to do? We have to trust that they are not lying to us” (Newsmax. Ohioans Question).

I heard a resident on a local newscast say she has not heard seen nor heard any birds. Many others are also reporting seeing dead wildlife and livestock. And the human toll just keeps building, yet the authorities keep saying it is safe to be in the area.

This is scary stuff, and this is just the immediate effects. Those with young children are especially concerned about the long-term effects on their children and their development.

Hundreds of worried people gathered Wednesday [2/15/23] in East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania state line, to hear state officials insist yet again that testing shows local air is safe to breathe so far and promise that air and water monitoring would continue….

Nearly two weeks after the derailment, people in the area have many concerns about the huge plumes of smoke they saw, persisting odors, risks to pets and wild animals, potential effects on drinking water and what’s happening with the cleanup.

Even as school resumed and trains were rolling again, people were worried.

“Why are they being hush-hush?” Kathy Dyke said of the railroad. “They’re not out here supporting, they’re not out here answering questions. For three days we didn’t even know what was on the train.”

“I have three grandbabies,” she said. “Are they going to grow up here in five years and have cancer? So those are all factors that play on my mind” (Trib Live. East Palestine residents return).

I am sure many local residents are asking themselves that very question about children.

Massive Area of Potential Problems/
Secretary Pete AWOL

A class-action lawsuit alleges the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and subsequent controlled burn of hazardous chemicals could have an adverse effect on the health of thousands of Western Pennsylvanians.

In the suit, two Beaver County men say they want Norfolk Southern Railway to pay for the medical monitoring of everyone who lives or works within a 30-mile radius of the Ohio village….

“(Those in the radius) have been exposed to toxic substances, toxic fumes and carcinogens and thereby suffer and will continue to suffer a significantly increased risk of serious injury and diseases,” reads the suit, which was filed last week. “This increased risk makes periodic diagnostic medical testing and examinations necessary” (Trib Live. Lawsuit).

I live about 50 miles from East Palestine, so I am outside of this danger zone. But, as already mentioned, I am east of the derailment site, so I am still concerned the toxins could drift my way. And with my sensitivities, it would not take much to cause me significant problems. I do know, there is no way I will be traveling west anytime soon.

Meanwhile, since this whole mess was caused by a train derailment, it falls under the auspices of the Department of Transportation. But Secretary Pete has been AWOL.

Ten days passed from the Feb. 3 derailment of the 150-car train – which was carrying vinyl chloride, a carcinogen that can poison water supplies – before Buttigieg finally acknowledged the incident in a tweet. Though he made public appearances during that span, he didn't address the accident in person (Newsmax. Buttigieg ‘Flunks).

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s silence on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, leading to a forced burn of vinyl chloride and has created concern about pollutants reaching the waterways, is further proof that he was “hired for all the wrong reasons,” Rep. Warren Davidson told Newsmax on Tuesday [2/14/23].

“He’s worried about all the wrong things and frankly, he was hired for all the wrong reasons and that’s where we need real pros to run these lanes, people that actually know the business,” the Ohio Republican said on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.” “‘Mayor Pete’ is not the guy that knows transportation.” …

Buttigieg has come under fire from other Republicans for his lack of attention to the Ohio situation, including for his appearance at the National Association of Counties Conference to discuss topics such as racial equity in the field of construction.

Davidson noted that his congressional district is in the Cincinnati area, far away from East Palestine, which is near the Pennsylvania border, but it’s still a concern that the “water is flowing right past our district, 4.5 hours away” in the Ohio River.

“That’s the scope of this catastrophe,” he added. (Newsmax. Rep. Davidson).

Both east via winds into PA and west via waterways into the rest of Ohio, this is potentially a major environmental disaster affecting a massive area. But Secretary Pete is nowhere to be found, as he too concerned about woke issues to deal with a real emergency.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday [2/13/23] opted to suggest that there are too many white people working in construction, choosing to make these remarks less than two weeks after the toxic chemical train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania line….

Buttigieg made no mention of the Ohio train derailment while speaking at a conference this morning but did find the time to say that there are too many white people who work construction (Breitbart. Pete Buttigieg Complains).

Secretary Pete must have gotten blowback for not mentioning the trail derailment at this event, so later that day, he finally said something.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is “concerned” by the impacts of the trail derailment near East Palestine, he said in a statement late Monday [2/13/23] — days after residents were force[d] to evacuate due to the release of toxic chemicals.

“I continue to be concerned about the impacts of the Feb 3 train derailment near East Palestine, OH, and the effects on families in the ten days since their lives were upended through no fault of their own,” Buttigieg said in a social media update Monday evening. …

Buttgieg’s Monday statement comes well over a week after the initial derailment, which forced residents to evacuate, as the derailed train was carrying toxic chemicals.…

The disaster serves as the latest incident under Buttgieg’s watch, prompting critics to point out that the Biden official continues to offer delayed or lackluster reactions, offering vague promises to investigate for issue after issue. The airline fiasco last year, for example, even prompted Democrats to sour on Buttigieg (Breitbart. Pete Buttigieg).

Pete’s Background/
Biden and Norfolk Southern Also AWOL

Remember, Buttigieg had no experience whatsoever in transportation when he was nominated. His only “qualification” was he is a homosexual. That is why Biden appointed him as Transportation Secretary.

Biden’s prosperity to appoint people based on identity politics rather than their qualifications has reared its ugly fruit with this disaster. And Biden has shown no concern for those in eastern Ohio and those of us here in western PA, and he has done nothing to encourage Secretary Pete to do anything about it.

This is the real-world results of Biden’s desire to make his cabinet “look like American” rather than to hire the most qualified people.

Moreover, many here think Biden and Buttigieg are AWOL over this situation, as most of the affected areas are composed of mostly white, Trump supporters. If these were black, Democrat areas, they would be all over it. But Biden and Buttigieg just don’t care if Republicans suffer and die needlessly.

Personally, I think the reason Biden and Buttigieg are absent in dealing with this tragedy is if they said anything, they would be pushed to come here and visit the affected areas. But they don’t want to do that and expose themselves to the toxic air that we all are now breathing.

That is the same reason officials from Norfolk Southern did not come to the townhall meeting in East Palestine on February 15^th. They claim it was out of fear for their safety, claiming they were afraid of violence. However, a resident on Jess Watters’ Fox News show said there were “tons of police” at the townhall. Thus, the “safety” they were really concerned about was to their lungs. But the air is just fine for us to breathe.

Conclusion

I thank God I am outside of the main danger zone, though again, I am still concerned those toxins could drift my way. However, I especially concerned about those within the 30-mile danger zone and particularly those in East Palestine and surrounding areas. My prayers are with them. I just wish our waste of a President and Transportation Secretary weren’t so bigoted against Republicans that they would demonstrate some concern with actions to help those directly affected.

References:

Breitbart. Health Concerns Grow as More Toxic Chemicals Revealed on Derailed Ohio Train than First Made Public.

Breitbart. Pete Buttigieg Complains About Too Many White Construction Workers.

Breitbart. Pete Buttigieg ‘Concerned’ by Impacts of Ohio Train Derailment.

Newsmax. Buttigieg ‘Flunks Crisis Communication 101’ With Train Derailment Response.

Newsmax. Ohio Resident to Newsmax: I Permanently Left Home After Train Spill.

Newsmax. Ohioans Question Returning Home After Toxic Train Spill.

Newsmax. Release of Toxic Chemicals From Derailed Tanker Cars Begins.

Newsmax. Rep. Davidson to Newsmax: After Silence on Train Crash, Buttigieg Has ‘Got to Go’.

Newsmax. Rep. Matt Cartwright to Newsmax: No ‘Maintenance’ of Rail Cars a ‘Red Flag’.

Newsmax. Senators Question Rail Oversight After Toxic Ohio Derailment.

Trib Live. East Palestine residents return home, clean up a week after Ohio train derailment.

Trib Live. East Palestine residents seek answers over train derailment.

Trib Live. Lawsuit: Thousands of Western Pa. residents at risk after Ohio train derailment.

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