Society

Ohio train mystery, the catastrophe hushed up by the Administration and the media

There is already talk of "an American Chernobyl." Many citizens wonder why the news has not been widely disseminated and whether the government wants to divert the focus of attention to hide its seriousness.

Toxic freight train that derailed in East Palestine (Ohio) on February 3, 2023.
Screenshot / YouTube: WKYC Channel 3
VERóNICA SILVERI PAZOS
February 14, 2023
5 minutes read

On February 3, a train carrying toxic substances - hydrogen chloride and phosgene - derailed and exploded in East Palestine (Ohio). This incident caused a large fire and forced the nearly 5,000 residents - who live within a one-mile (1.6 kilometer) radius of the fire site - to evacuate their homes for fear that they could be injured or even die from inhaling harmful fumes.

After the derailment, the impossibility of collecting or recouperating the chemical elements, led the authorities to proceed with a more theoretical solution, which was a controlled burning of the chemical elements. Experts warned that this would create a plume of phosgene and hydrogen chloride throughout the region. Other cars were carrying combustible liquids such as butyl acrylate and benzene residues.

After this, the citizens were able to return to their homes, however, upon arrival, they saw that there were dead fish in the streams and lifeless animals on the farms. In addition, toxic fumes continued to linger in the air. Exposure to these chemicals can cause diseases such as cancer or cardiopulmonary infections.

Despite the catastrophe represented by the train explosion - due to the release of chemical elements harmful to human beings - the event went unnoticed by most of the media for more than 10 days. In the face of this silence and that of the Administration, several reports and videos showing the magnitude of the catastrophe appeared on social networks. Several users defined it as "an American Chernobyl."

An event ignored by the media

Now citizens are wondering what is behind this silence and the scarce dissemination of the news of the train explosion. The majority of the establishment media almost completely ignored the disaster while they published dozens of news stories of other, initially less alarming events, such as the sudden appearance of several unidentified objects flying over the country's airspace. A set of circumstances that gave rise to all kinds of theories on social networks.

Some users claim that the aerial shootdowns are not even real and have simply been reported by the media to "cover up" the derailment and the whole debate about transporting these hazardous substances and the consequences of the accident: "What an outrageous thing has been happening in Ohio in the last week. Some say the UFO thing is being used to cover up this giant environmental catastrophe."

Many also remember that the poor condition of the railroad tracks was one of the reasons that would lead the industry to strike. A strike that the Biden Administration blocked in December of last year by passing a law that prevented the strike from taking place, citing the collapse it would have caused in the middle of the Christmas campaign. Many now link the silence of the Administration to this thwarted strike.

The arrest of a journalist

The arrest of journalist Evan Lambert - who was in charge of reporting the derailment for NewsNation - was another event commented on in social networks that further fueled theories of what the media might be covering up. Lambert was handcuffed and arrested while covering a press conference where Governor, Mike DeWine, was giving an update on the accident. He was detained for about five hours at the local police station on February 8, and could face criminal charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.

According to the police, the arrest occurred because the journalist refused to follow the National Guard's orders to leave the area. However, it is known that he had been one of the few reporters who had photographed the pollution of Leslie Run Creek - where thousands of dead fish were found - and from which millions of people receive their water supply. Officials found dissolved toxic gases, lack of oxygen and excess nitrogen and phosphorus in these waters.

As I say, the chemical disaster is the government's responsibility, which is why they have even arrested reporters who have tried to report on what happened in Ohio. Here is the arrest of journalist Evan Lambert for photographing what happened. To hide all this, they talk about UFOs.

Republicans ask for explanations

Some congressmen also began to link the recent shoot-downs of unidentified flying objects in the airspace to this tragedy. According to them, this news is being used as a form of distraction. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene recently tweeted:

Other members of the Republican Party are demanding explanations from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who made no mention of the derailment. This is causing him to receive numerous criticisms:

Netflix movie 'predicted' the accident

The incident also comes just two years after Netflix shot a movie in Ohio about a train derailment. The show, called White Noise, tells the story of how several people try to evacuate the city after a freight railroad collides with a tanker truck, causing an explosion that filled the air with toxic and dangerous substances for human beings.

CNN interviewed a family from Ohio who participated in the film as extras. Ben Ratnera -father of the family- expressed that now is reliving the events of the recording, because they had to vacate their home the day after the derailment due to risks The first half of the movie is almost exactly what's going on here," Ratner said.

 

More questions than reality

The environmental scope, legal implications, health consequences for the locality and the truth about the catastrophe are yet to be determined. But so far, there are more questions about the case than answers . What is known is that the release of toxic gases can cause the death of many people:

Photos, videos and reports on the train derailment and toxic chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio (...) This may be the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Complaints about the damage caused by the explosions and the spill are also growing in number every day:

Lynn Goldman, dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, warned that the invisible particles of this gas that persist in the environment are more dangerous than the vapors resulting from its burning:

Until a thorough evaluation has been performed, soot and any other material, in my opinion, should be treated as contaminated with vinyl chloride and/or dioxins or other contaminants until proven otherwise.

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