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My third update since the derailment on 3 February 2023, and the subsequent controlled burn of five rail cars containing vinyl chloride. See the previous articles on 1 March and 5 April.

Let’s start with a quote from an East Palestine resident Tracy Hager. This is part of what she said on 5 May 2023:

I ended up with an inhaler, and my husband on medications, we were experiencing stuff so bad, it was triggering every time we would go outside. A lot of people have been gone. Many are at this campground, and they are choosing to stay the whole summer… everybody is scared… When you go into town, it’s divided. You have people who can’t leave. You have people who did leave but mismanaged their finances from Norfolk, so they have had to go back. There are people who are still out, they have found family to stay with… It’s just so weird in town… I can’t go on thinking, I don’t know what’s going on? It’s my family’s health… If I have the ways to stay out, we are going to do it.

What Happened?

A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying more than 100,000 gallons of hazardous chemicals derailed in the small town of East Palestine, OH., on its 1,600-mile journey to a chemical plant in Pedricktown, N.J. I don’t know how big this train was but certainly over a mile long!

Both sides of politics in America have allowed the scaling back of rail safety management for over ten years. The result: about three U.S. train derailments per day. The reason: to boost rail company profits.

One response to this disaster is that the Senate is now proposing to increase the fine for failure in safety from US $100,000 to US $10 million.

Who Authorised the Controlled Burn of Five Cars Containing Lethal Chemicals?

The derailed cars were a potential bomb. But who should have taken responsibility for the disaster response? Crucial question. You would expect that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would step up to the plate, they would take responsibility. But did they? They modelled the controlled burn of ‘one’ car, yes, but:

Friday 3^rd February 38 of the train’s cars derail in East Palestine. The derailed equipment includes 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that ignited, fuelling fires that damage another dozen cars,

Monday 6^th February To help prevent a deadly explosion of vinyl chloride, crews conduct a controlled detonation involving cars containing the toxic substance. The chemical was drained into a trench and burned off. “The detonation went perfect,” a Norfolk Southern official said.

That ‘controlled burn’ was in fact of ‘five’ cars. No modelling for such a burn had been done and has still not been done. So, toxin testing in the vicinity of the disaster is being done (when it is being done), in the dark, with no control samples to compare.

Who authorised the burn? You would expect the EPA, but at this point, no one is claiming that responsibility. Who conducted the burn? The rail company, Norfolk Southern, and apparently, they said it ‘went perfectly’.

What Happened in the Days After the Disaster?

Chaos! The chains of command were tangled and broken. It appears to me that the driving force was the rail company, they wanted to minimise their losses. They simply wanted to get their mess cleared up as quickly as possible. Any school-based chemistry student could tell us:

When vinyl chloride is burnt, highly toxic combustion products such as hydrogen chloride, phosgenic, and carbon monoxide are produced along with dioxins consisting of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and many other dioxin-like compounds.

What Do the People of East Palestine Do Now?

Dead fish in the rivers. Livestock and pets dead. Businesses bankrupt. Homes that can’t sell. Breathing problems. Skin disorders. Bleeding noses. The unknown. Psychological trauma.

Comparisons are being made with Chernobyl, the nuclear reactor disaster in the Ukraine 26th April 1986. There:

Over the years, some 350,000 people have been relocated due to the Chernobyl accident according to the World Nuclear Association. The exclusion zone, which is essentially uninhabited, originally extended 30 kilometres encompassing around 2,800 square kilometres, from the site of the decommissioned nuclear power plant. Later it was modified, now covering roughly 4,300 square kilometers.

Yes, this was a radiation disaster, an accident, arguably due to poor operational procedures, not due to flawed technology.

East Palestine is a chemical disaster accident, arguably due to poor operational procedures, not due to flawed technology.

But on top of this. The people here have not been evacuated, other than for two days after the controlled burn. The chemical testing has been inconsistent and scientifically flawed. The medium to long term effects of exposure to dioxins has not been adequately studied. All the residents know is that these chemicals are the most carcinogenic known to man.

What Can We Do?

1. Remember the 4,718 residents (2021) of East Palestine, Ohio. Try to understand what happened here over three months ago and the ongoing impact of decisions taken. Remember the people of Pennsylvania, to the east of Ohio that were also covered with the chemical fallout of the controlled burn.
2. Grapple with waring agendas in our world. Between corporate demands, profit margins, and costly risk management. The sacrifice of individual freedoms for the common good. The locus of responsibility, global, national, local, or personal?
3. Please pray for the people affected by this chemical disaster. For their physical and psychological health. Pray for protection from the ravages of damaging chemicals on their bodies and for healing of those still suffering. Pray for peace and understanding in the community and that the right leadership will rise up to support the people and bring those responsible to account. Pray for the churches and their leaders. Pray that, this will be a disaster that teaches authorities how to mend their ways.

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Photo by Wikimedia Commons.