Cheap, Performative Apologies for those in East Palestine
And why is the EPA waiting until now to do additional testing?
This post follows a series of prior posts relating to the situation in East Palestine. This was originally part of a much longer post assessing the data. However, I realized that I was misinterpreting the data and therefore have decided to remove that portion for now.
On Thursday a second town hall meeting took place in the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and once again the CEO of Norfolk Southern, the railway company responsible for the cleanup of the of the chemical train derailment, was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a representative was sent to say that they are sorry for what happened.
It’s old, but I can’t help but think of this scene from South Park.
This isn’t even an exaggeration…:
Residents are still demanding answers, transparency, and accountability weeks after they were told that they were able to return to their homes.
Recent reports have mentioned continuous illness with residents after returning, with some reports even mentioning that several people have began to vomit.
It’s hard to look at this current situation and argue that things are safe. Most of the people who are responding to the crisis aren’t the same people who have lived in this small town for generations, many of who must now worry if it is safe for them to stay there at all.
Consider the image of Ohio Governor. Mike DeWine, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Representative Bill Johnson taking a drink from a resident’s tap to emphasize the point that the water is “safe”:
Such an image is only reminiscent of President Obama drinking water from Flint, Michigan showing there that the water is “safe”.
The problem with these performative acts from those in power is all the same. These people don’t have to keep drinking the tap water. They don’t have to keep breathing the air. They don’t have to play in the soil or creeks. They can all leave whenever they please.
But it’s also the fact that any inherent toxicity from contaminants would not present with acute symptoms— we’d likely see everyone in East Palestine falling ill if that were the case. The real concern is over long-term potential health risks through long-term, continuous exposure, of which one measly drink will hardly do much. But if you must drink and bathe in the water daily that’s a completely different story, and it’s a scenario that many in power don’t have to worry about in contrast to the residents.
Again, the assurance from those in the EPA and other government positions is that everything is “safe” even with the many reports of concerning symptoms.
And unfortunately evidence continues to mount suggesting that raises doubts to this safety.
An independent analysis from Texas A&M of the air quality data provided by the EPA noted elevated levels of various compounds, including one called acrolein which appears to be greatly elevated:
I’ve tried corroborating the acrolein data but I’m unsure where exactly Texas A&M looked, although I think a team of independent analyzers are probably going to fare far better than one individual on Substack.
To that, the researchers traveled around East Palestine to measure acrolein levels and compared the measures to other cities such as Pittsburgh.
Although there are many places with comparable acrolein levels (in green) there were several places noted to have much higher levels (in red and orange):
The group has stated that this was a preliminary test with follow-up, deeper analyses being conducted and may come at a different time.
The fact that there appears to be much higher levels of various compounds in the days after the fire should raise some concerns.
And even though the EPA has deemed things “safe” they have hypocritically reported that they are now going to conduct a dioxin test a month after the accident, meaning that residents may have possibly been exposed for weeks to toxic compounds:
WASHINGTON – In direct response to the concerns Administrator Michael Regan heard from residents in East Palestine earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require Norfolk Southern to test directly for dioxins. If dioxins are found at a level that poses any unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, EPA will direct the immediate cleanup of the area as needed. In addition, EPA will require Norfolk Southern to conduct a background study to compare any dioxin levels around East Palestine to dioxin levels in other areas not impacted by the train derailment. Pursuant to EPA’s order holding Norfolk Southern accountable, EPA will oversee all potential cleanup efforts. EPA will also continue sampling for “indicator chemicals,” which based on test results to date, suggest a low probability for release of dioxin from this incident.
This level of cognitive dissonance is rather astonishing. Rather than saying “if dioxins are found” why did the EPA not ensure that no dioxins “are present” prior to allowing residents to return to their homes?
There’s a serious problem when those responsible for assuring the safety of the people are not conducting enough tests to make sure that is the case.
It’s the bold assumption that if one does not test for certain compounds then they must not exist.
And even now as there continues to be lack of evidence and transparency several workers tasked with cleaning up the reporting illnesses:
Union representatives argued that improper PPE was not worn by workers, which Norfolk Southern refuted:
Long said he had received reports that the workers were not given proper personal protection equipment to help clean up the wreckage, not being offered respirators, eye protection and protective clothing.
He also said many employees “reported that they continue to experience migraines and nausea, days after the derailment, and they all suspect that they were willingly exposed to these chemicals at the direction of [Norfolk Southern].”
Norfolk Southern in a statement challenged the claim that proper personal protective equipment was not used at the scene.
“In East Palestine, Norfolk Southern was on-scene immediately after the derailment and coordinated our response with hazardous material professionals who were on site continuously to ensure the work area was safe to enter and the required PPE was utilized, all in addition to air monitoring that was established within an hour,” the company said in a statement to The Hill.
At the same time workers are being told they are not wearing adequate PPE many local residents are being told that the area is safe, with the train derailment occurring right in the backyards of locals.
Many are still awaiting more information, but more information should have come about before residents were allowed to return a mere two days after the controlled fire had occurred.
So far, the EPA has added additional surface water sample data from Pace Analytical.
Water samples were also provided by the Greater Cincinnati Waterworks (GCWW) as well as Louisville Water Company which haven’t indicated anything concerning in their water systems. However, this doesn’t tell much about the rivers, soil, and air in East Palestine.
ORSANCO has also added more days of testing results for various rivers.
Unfortunately, it appears that more waiting must happen for additional testing, although whether residents should remain in East Palestine as residents continue to fall ill should raise concerns about how long those tests will take, or whether the exposure at this point may be too late.
Substack is my main source of income and all support helps to support me in my daily life. If you enjoyed this post and other works please consider supporting me through a paid Substack subscription or through my Ko-fi. Any bit helps, and it encourages independent creators and journalists such as myself to provide work outside of the mainstream narrative.
I am guessing Acrolein is in the soil where the chemicals were dumped and as it evaporates contaminated the air. You can find such levels in major cities. They should drop in time. The HQ applies to long term exposures (years).
The workers were on the contaminated soil digging it up. Their exposures far higher than returning residents. Where were these workers union bosses
There is unlikely any Dioxin in the air. Its heavier than air and whatever was in the air when the fires went out would be in soil and water now. Unless they are eating local fish, fruit or vegetables its unlikely the residents will suffer much if any exposure. Dioxin is durable, so just have to hope there is not too much
"The problem with these performative acts from those in power is all the same. These people don’t have to keep drinking the tap water. They don’t have to keep breathing the air. They don’t have to play in the soil or creeks. They can all leave whenever they please." ... This breaks my heart. 💔