After the toxic chemical spill, East Palestine, an industrial town in Ohio, tried to restore order. This week, schools in this area have resumed classes, restaurants have started serving meals, and trains have started running. However, residents of Palestinian towns are still worried about environmental pollution and safety.
On February 15, 2023, local time, in East Palestine, Ohio, USA, in East Palestine High School, local and surrounding residents lined up to attend the town hall meeting. Hundreds of worried residents of a village in Ohio gathered to ask officials questions about health hazards. Vision china According to a report by American media The New York Times on February 15th, in East Palestinian town, many residents are smelling the water from their faucets, looking in the mirror to check whether they have rashes, and are scared of dead fish and floating frog carcasses in the stream … Many people say that the smell in the air is lingering: some people think it is like the smell of burning tires, while others think of the smell of burning plastic, glue or nail polish remover.About two weeks ago, on February 3, a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestinian town and caused a fire. After the accident, the East Palestinian town entered a state of emergency. On the 9th, residents were told that they could return to their homes. The New York Times said that after hundreds of residents were forced to leave the area for several days and returned to local life, their worries became the norm for many residents.
Long-term risks are worrying.
The train that caused the accident came from Norfolk Southern Company. According to CCTV news reported on the 16th, Norfolk Southern Company decided to carry out the so-called "controlled release" operation of vinyl chloride in five carriages on the 6th, which led to the emergency evacuation of residents within several kilometers of Fiona Fang due to the threat of deadly gas. On the 9th, some residents had symptoms such as headache and nausea after returning to their homes. The US Environmental Protection Agency said on the 13th that after the completion of the "controlled release" operation, the test results showed that the toxins associated with derailment events in the atmospheric environment had not reached a worrying level.
CNN)2 reported on February 15th that although residents of East Palestinian town have been home for about a week, people still prefer to buy bottled water rather than tap water. Ohio Governor Dwayne told CNN that the first test results of local water quality were "very good", but he also hoped that residents would not "risk" drinking.
On February 15, 2023, local time, Becky Rance and Waddle Colley in Ohio, USA distributed bottled water while continuing to clean up some sections of the freight train derailed in southern Norfolk a week ago. The East Palestinian town of vision china, with a population of nearly 5,000, is deeply anxious: the derailment of the train has had an unbearable impact on the local water, air, soil and surface. According to CNN, the US Environmental Protection Agency said that the dangerous substances on the derailed train on February 3 included vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethyl hexyl acrylate, isobutylene and butyl acrylate.According to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vinyl chloride that caused the fire may be decomposed into compounds including hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a chemical weapon used as a asphyxiant during World War I.. Maria Doa from the Environmental Protection Foundation told CNN that vinyl chloride is a volatile organic compound (VOC), which is the most toxic chemical substance in this derailment. This substance may cause cancer, liver damage and brain damage.
CNN pointed out that although recent monitoring by US authorities and Norfolk Southern Company showed that local substances such as vinyl chloride, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide and phosgene did not exceed the standard, many residents complained that they had symptoms of headache.
On February 8, Kurt Kohler from the Emergency Response Office of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said that it may take several years to clean up and monitor the derailment accident site. Kohler promised that the Ohio environmental protection department will participate in the clean-up process for a long time. The environmental protection department at the federal level in the United States also stressed that they will "do their best to help protect the community (East Palestinian town)".
On February 15th, Norfolk Southern Company said that it was preparing to set up a charity fund with 1 million US dollars (about 6.84 million yuan) to support the East Palestinian town and help the local "recovery and prosperity". However, for the local people, these comforts are probably insignificant. The long-term risk of this accident is still unclear, and the environmental officials of the authorities have just begun to assess the long-term risk, which is worrying. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for businessmen to make new investments in East Palestinian towns.
How many unknowns are there?
Bruce Vanderhoff, Ohio Health Director, said that volatile organic compounds can "cause common symptoms such as headache, eye irritation and nose irritation at low levels". Vanderhoff said that all the data they have collected so far show that the content of these substances in the local air is very low, and the statement about residents’ headaches and animal deaths is "anecdote". James lee, spokesman of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, told CNN on 15th that the smell of some toxic substances is obvious, which does not mean that the concentration of pollutants has reached harmful levels.
According to The New York Times, it is difficult for residents in East Palestinian towns to know how many things have not been revealed, which may be the most terrible thing for them. Residents of East Palestinian towns are not sure whether some dangerous factors that seem to be solved in the short term will pose a threat again in the next few years.
Some experts stressed that only a more comprehensive investigation can make the cause and consequences of the accident clear. The New York Times said that the information provided by the local government and railways confused the local residents, and the information was inconsistent, which weakened their trust. East Palestinian town used to be a prosperous industrial town, but the wave of factory closures for decades has hit the local area hard, and residents’ trust in public power is already very weak.
After the accident, rumors and conspiracy theories about derailment accidents were widely spread on social platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. In the local area, neighbors are also discussing and spreading these statements.
On the 15th, the East Palestinian town held an "information open day" on the derailment accident, but this did not ease the tension. Norfolk Southern Company did not participate in the meeting, saying that the accident made their employees increasingly threatened. Residents complained that the absence of the railway meeting made the so-called "open day" seem like a waste of time. Despite this, residents still lined up in front of the gymnasium where the "Information Open Day" was held.
A few days ago, residents of East Palestinian town realized that the derailed train carried more toxic chemicals than they thought, which made many residents think that more information was concealed by relevant parties.
"I just don’t trust anyone." Mike Routh, a 28-year-old local resident, told The New York Times. He lives in New Waterford, a small town five miles from East Palestinian town. A church in New Waterford has become an aid center for residents of East Palestinian towns.
Norfolk Southern Company offered to provide $1,000 in aid to local residents. Mike Rouse makes a living by installing cell phone towers. In the face of Norfolk Southern Company’s assistance plan, Rouse seemed hesitant, fearing that once he accepted this money, he would limit his lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Company in the future. Rouse said that Norfolk Southern Company would "buy out" his way out. "This is almost a war between greedy enterprises and American towns. This town has just begun to recover, and now it is going to die. "
The New York Times pointed out that at present, most of the anger is directed at Norfolk Southern Company. Some politicians also denounced the railway company. Ohio Governor Dwayne, a Republican, said it was "absurd" for Norfolk Southern Company not to inform local officials in advance of the substance on the derailed train on the grounds of "confidentiality".
(This article is from The Paper, please download the "The Paper" APP for more original information)
Reporting/feedback
关于作者