Ohio Senators Comment on Train Derailment, Chemical Leak

        Last week, a train carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl fluoride, derailed near East Palestine, Ohio. The EPA responded and, due to fear of an explosion, they decided to breach the containers and release the vinyl chloride into the air after evacuating the surrounding area. Small amounts of the chemicals have been detected in the Ohio River, but reportedly not enough to pose any health risk. However, approximately 3,500 fish have died in rivers and tributaries as a result, and the final number will no doubt be much higher. Several pets and livestock have been diagnosed with vinyl chloride poisoning according to local veterinarians.

        Both Ohio senators have spoken on the matter multiple times. Over the weekend, Republican J.D. Vance filmed a video showing what appears to be chemicals in a creek that become visible when he disturbs the creek bed. Senator Vance goes on to say, “This disgusting, and the fact that we have not cleaned up the train crash, the fact these chemicals are still seeping into the ground is an insult to the people who live in East Palestine.” Senator Vance focuses on the fact that the cleanup of this environmental disaster has been extremely slow, which has allowed the chemicals to spread further than they otherwise would have. He clearly implies that the Biden administration, via the EPA, has mounted a lackadaisical response and failed the people of East Palestine, a town that voted heavily for Trump in 2020. 

        The other Ohio Senator, and Democrat, Sherrod Brown had a different target in his most recent comments; Norfolk Southern, the company who owned the train. The cause for the derailment appears to be the use of a braking mechanism from the 1800’s. While hazardous materials are supposed to be transported on trains with specially designed brakes, Norfolk Southern did not mark the containers as hazardous and transported them on an older train in order to save money on transportation costs. This comes on the heels of a railroad union strike and Norfolk Southern opting to buy back their own stock. Senator Brown claims Norfolk Southern’s greed is the cause of this environmental disaster, saying “This is the same old story-corporations do stock buy backs and big dividend checks and they lay off workers.” Brown claims Norfolk Southern put maximizing their profits over ensuring safe working conditions and transportation. 

For their part, Norfolk Southern, worth $53B, created a $1M fund for victims of the train derailment. Bloomberg News has reported that the company has turned to drawing on a line of credit for the expected costs of this disaster. They have already had 8 lawsuits filed against them, with more expected, potentially even from the Ohio government or the EPA. To this point, the Biden Administration has not sent any representative to East Palestine. 

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