Thursday, March 28, 2024 -
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Make that Palesteen

When last week I saw “Palestine” trending I hesitated to click. On social media I typically avoid the Israel-Palestine topic like the plague. But click I did and was shocked to be watching a video of a man talking about dead fish.

Something horrible is unfolding in eastern Ohio. Close to two weeks ago a massive plume of smoke went up in the air. East Palestine (it’s pronounced “Palesteen”) residents were frightened — and if you see the pictures, you will be too. It turned out that a 141-car freight train had derailed some days earlier. But worse, about 20 of the train’s cars were filled with hazardous chemicals.

The EPA put a controlled burn into place, slowly releasing the toxins. A few short days later an evacuation order was lifted and the area deemed safe.

Naturally, the residents, primarily working class, are frightened that the air and drinking water is contaminated, especially as animals, specifically fish, keep dying. A few days ago it was discovered that the train contained even more types of toxic chemicals than had previously been reported.

Questions abound. I don’t claim to know any of the answers, or even enough to know if these are the right questions. Among them: Why did the train derail? The NTSB’s preliminary finding is a faulty brake mechanism. Which leads to the next question: Why is Sec. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg not reinstating a safety rule removed by the Trump administration that railway experts say would have reduced the severity of this derailment? In fact, why has Buttigieg been silent on this entire incident?

Was the controlled burn done too early, quickly or broadly in order to get the rail line open again? Why was a journalist investigating the fallout removed from Gov. DeWine’s press conference? Perhaps most damning, why does our government continue to allow itself to be lobbied by corporations seeking to reduce safety regulations, bringing real harm to average Americans? I can’t be the only one reminded of the opioid crisis.

As I read the news reports — and but for local news outlets and social media we’d likely be ignorant of East Palestine, Ohio — I feel like I’m living during Chernobyl.

If these toxins flow into the Ohio River, the ecological and humanitarian crisis will not be isolated to a small part of eastern Ohio.

So many questions need to be answered.

Shana Goldberg may be reached at [email protected]

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