The East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment and Its Aftermath: How Dangerous Is It?

Dubious

On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train transporting deathly chemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio. Weeks after the toxic train wreck, residents have reported a growing number of symptoms – from rashes and nausea to headaches and trouble breathing.

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After the train derailed at approximately 9 PM ET, the chemicals it transported, such as vinyl chloride, were intentionally burned off in a controlled explosion, which prompted a temporary evacuation of the area. If you like our content and want to support us, please become a patron to get all of our episodes ad-free.

The waterways and creeks around East Palestine are covered in an oily sheen, fish died and now people and animals in the area are experiencing worrying symptoms.

For almost two weeks, the media was silent. Similarly, the local authorities did not say much either. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, said in a press conference on Feb 14, 2023, ten days after the East Palestine ecological disaster:

‘Look, President Biden called me and said, “Anything you need.” I have not called him back after that conversation. We will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I’m not seeing it.’

The EPA and FEMA are on the ground, debate continues whether it is safe to breathe the air or drink the water in the area. Questions are being raised regarding the extent and reach of this environmental disaster, too. 1, 2

In this episode we also look at the peculiar similarities between the East Palestine toxic train derailment and the very similar fictional event described in the novel White Noise. This coincidence is reminiscent of another unbelievable case: the 1979 the film “The China Syndrome” with Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, and Jack Lemmon. This movie about a nuclear plant explosion in Three Mile Island came out in theaters one week before the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in Pennsylvania, which led to 140,000 people being evacuated out of their homes. 3

1. Alex Presha,Brandon Chase ,Morgan Winsor andIsabella Murray. Ohio train derailment: EPA administrator visits East Palestine, asks residents to 'trust the government'. ABC News. February 2023. ⇤

2. This isn't a railway in a Third World County, This is in Ohio. Twitter. February 2023. ⇤

3. Alison Stine. The eerie parallels between Netflix's "White Noise" and the Ohio train derailment disaster. Salon. February 2023. ⇤