Beyond the tensions caused by the war in Ukraine, to the President of the United States, Joe Bidenanother crisis broke out for him that, while much smaller, has the potential to “derail” his presidency.
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This is what happened in East Palestine, a small town of 5,000 inhabitants located on the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania where two weeks ago a train loaded with dangerous chemicals derailed and has become the epicenter of a new dispute between Republicans and Democrats.
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On February 3, at regarding 9 p.m., a convoy with more than 150 wagons operated by the Norfolk Southern firm left the track causing a fire. The train, or at least some of its cars, was carrying toxic materials that were on their way to a decontamination factory. Among them, vinyl chloride and others that have the potential to cause cancer.
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Almost immediately, a mandatory evacuation of the area was ordered. After three days and fearing a massive explosion of pollutants, the authorities opted for the controlled release of the chemicals, causing a thick column of smoke that was observed for several more days. According to the agencies involved, it was the only alternative to avoid a major disaster.
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Although the fire has already gone out, residents have not wanted to return to their homes for fear of the effects of contamination. Many have reported coughing and other symptoms and insist the air smells “funny.” The death of more than 3,500 fish in various streams and other animals has also been documented.
Both Mike de Wine, the Republican governor of the state, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been insisting that multiple tests confirm that both air and water do not present risks and that they can return. But few believe them and demand answers.
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De Wine even stayed overnight in town this week to show that it is safe and he even drank tap water to reassure the inhabitants.
Meanwhile, state authorities (which have priority) and federal authorities have launched separate investigations to determine the causes of the incident and its possible long-term impact. This week, the EPA, meanwhile, required Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up any residual contamination and pay the agency’s costs for the same purpose. The company also announced that it will use a fund with more than 65 million dollars to compensate residents.
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The true scope of the tragedy
From an environmental point of view, experts debate the true scope of the tragedy.
According to Ted Shettler, chief scientific officer at the Environment and Health Agency, It is concerning that residents continue to report “chemical odor” and believes the EPA should adjust the criteria and test for volatile organic chemicals, or VOCs, as these irritants are called.. Also note that initial measurements may yield inconclusive results, as chemicals sometimes take time to settle in water sources and surfaces.
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Erin Brockovich, an activist on these issues whose case once morest a California company was immortalized in a 2000 film starring Julia Roberts, has been telling residents to trust their instincts, not the authorities.
“This is vinyl chloride. It’s in the air, the fish are dying. Who can rest easy with that? I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and one thing I know is that the EPA can’t be trusted,” he said recently.
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This is vinyl chloride. It’s in the air, the fish are dying. Who can be calm with that? I’ve been doing this for 30 years and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the EPA can’t be trusted
But in Politically, the case has turned into a storm that has a bit of everything. From opportunism, to conspiracy, through negligence.
Many have rightly pointed to the Biden administration’s slow response to the tragedy. At least from an optical point of view. The government has been insisting that from the beginning it has worked hand in hand with de Wine and other local authorities, who are the ones with the initial authority. Likewise, they point out that they have provided all the necessary resources.
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However, Republicans have targeted the EPA, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Biden. Michael Reagan, head of this agency, only appeared in town on Wednesday, while Buttigieg did so on Thursday, two weeks later.
The secretary, in fact, had to apologize for the delay and said that he is learning from that mistake. But that, of course, did not silence the Republican voices calling for his resignation.
And then there’s the president Donald Trump, who appeared this week in Palestine carrying bottles of water and accusing Biden of abandoning them to their fate. According to the former president, while Biden was on a “tour” of Ukraine donating billions of dollars to this distant country, in Ohio and Pennsylvania their own citizens might not breathe or drink water.
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Trump, who has already announced his candidacy for the 2024 elections, undoubtedly saw an enormous opportunity to weaken him, since both states will be key in those elections.
A disaster that might have been prevented
Still, the administration and others point to the hypocrisy of Trump and the Republicans and think the game can be turned back on them. This is because Trump, during his administration, practically dismantled the EPA and eliminated many of the rules and regulations that might have prevented disaster.
Among them, an Obama-era rule that called for more efficient brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials, another that it ended regular safety audits for railroads and suspended a pending rule requiring freight trains to have at least two crew members.
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To top it off, he put a veteran of the chemical industry in charge of the EPA’s office of chemical safety, where he made favorable changes for this sector by limiting the studies that the agency might carry out regarding health risks.
“Many of those who now seem to be taking political advantage of this are the same ones who have spent years fighting tooth and nail to prevent controls from being lifted on the rail industry when it transports toxic materials,” Buttigieg said.
On the far right, meanwhile, the case has been blown out of proportion. Many conservative commentators, including from Fox News, refer to the incident as Chernobyl 2.0 in reference to the explosion of a nuclear plant in the Soviet Union in 1986 that killed at least 4,000 people. They also speak of a massive effort to hide the true scope of an incident they call the “worst environmental disaster in history” and suggest it may have been premeditated.
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Proof of how charged the political world is in the US, Tucker Carlson, one of the most popular presenters on FOX, even included a racial element following suggesting that the Democratic administration had played down the importance of the tragedy, since the residents of East Palestine are mostly white.
No one knows for sure how profound the human, environmental and political impact of the disaster will be. What is clear is that Joe Biden will have to deal, not just with Vladimir Putin’s “nuke” threat, but as a chemical bomb that appears to have been unleashed in his own backyard.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
A Twitter @sergom68
