‘Ohio Chernobyl’: East Palestine Town Hall Scrapped After Residents Report Health Problems

Original article here.

Nearly two weeks after a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train with 150 cars (20 of which were carrying hazardous materials) derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, resulting in a chemical disaster, the extent of the damage to the town and surrounding communities remains unclear.

On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference for the Feb. 3 derailment. He said Norfolk Southern did not classify the train as a “high hazardous material train” despite multiple cars containing toxic chemical vinyl chloride.

“This is absurd … Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled,” DeWine said. 

There’s already an effort by lawmakers on Capitol Hill and federal agencies to investigate the derailment. Epoch Times noted:

Key committees in the Republican-controlled House are holding their peace as investigations of the derailment and its environmental impact proceed.

A spokesperson for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led by Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), said the committee was talking with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration, and the railroad involved, Norfolk Southern.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and NTSB’s ongoing investigation,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a Feb. 14 email.

Investigators have uncovered security camera footage 20 miles before East Palestine of the suspected railcar that caused the derailment. Footage shows one of the cars was on fire well before the small town.

“NTSB investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment. Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” NTSB wrote on its website.

OHIO – Security camera footage captured the Norfolk Southern train passing by Salem, OH with flames and sparks under at least one of the cars. #ohiotrainderailment pic.twitter.com/bh1WgiPpSr

— Emmanuelle Saliba (@_esaliba) February 15, 2023

Michael Graham, a member of the NTSB, told reporters one day after the derailment:

“We’re also looking at a lot of different footage that has been provided to the investigators out there to determine if there’s some data on footage that we have from videos and cameras that might tell us something more that what might have happened to cause this accident.” 

At a follow-on briefing on Feb. 5, Graham said investigators were analyzing locomotive footage. He said the focus was one of the rail car’s axles.

“We have obtained two videos which show preliminary indications of mechanical issues on one of the rail car axles,” Graham said. 

Graham added engineers on the train were alerted by a “wayside defect detector shortly before the derailment, indicating a mechanical issue.”

“Then an emergency brake application initiated,” he continued, adding that a preliminary investigative report was expected within several weeks, though a full probe could take as long as 24 months.

As investigators pinpoint the likely cause of the derailment, the environmental impact of the controlled burn of 20 railcars that contained toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene, has released what some described as a ‘chemical nuclear bomb’ that has contaminated the town and other surrounding communities.

Following the burn, there have been numerous reports of wildlife dying, including fish and frogs in nearby streams.

While East Palestine residents are being told by Norfolk Southern and Ohio officials that everything is safe after the toxic “controlled release” — I’m here and witnessing creeks filled with dead frogs and fish. pic.twitter.com/UBh3zes59j

— Jeremy Loffredo (@loffredojeremy) February 14, 2023

Chickens are dying in and around East Palestine Ohio after the train derailment and controlled burn. People and pets are NOT SAFE! pic.twitter.com/5rYuUfWbpG

— Patriotic Homesteader (@2_Acre_Living) February 14, 2023

People have reported that their chickens, dogs, and horses were either sick or died.

People in East Palestine and surrounding communities have reported various symptoms they can’t explain since the burn, according to News 5 Cleveland.

Therese Vigliotti said she hasn’t felt right since the controlled release and burn after train cars derailed more than a week ago.

She sent us a picture of her tongue.

“I noticed my lips were numb, the soft palate of my mouth was numb, my tongue was burning and my throat was burning,” Vigliotti said.

We asked what her biggest concern was.

“That I’m going to get cancer and die,” Vigliotti said.

Vigliotti doesn’t live in East Palestine but rather 15 miles north of the derailment site in Poland, Ohio.

Jim does call the village home.

You can hear train horns from his front porch.

“It used to not bother me hearing, now it does,” Jim said.

He too is worried about what he is experiencing.

“I’ve had a migraine. I’ve been dizzy, all my mucus membranes irritated. I haven’t felt very well since then,” Jim said.

And on a long enough timeline. People exposed to vinyl chloride might have an increased risk of developing a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia.

I GOT A DISTRIBUTION MAP pic.twitter.com/X7jzUIOmrb

— UAE Exotic Falconry & Finance (@FalconryFinance) February 15, 2023

Aftermath of the Ohio: Woman details what she says is from #acidrain . I am no expert so if anyone knows about things like this feel free to comment. #ChemicalSpill #OhioChernobyl #NorfolkSouthernDerailment pic.twitter.com/IP7U8lM8HX

— Wake Up Waverly (@WaverlyWakeUp) February 15, 2023

Protesters standing on a street corner in downtown East Palestine. Town hall meeting for residents at 7pm. @WTOV9 pic.twitter.com/uXExImoIBP

— Chloë Mesogitis (@ChloeWTOV9) February 15, 2023

“There are a lot of people who are very, very scared,” said East Palestine resident Lynn Guy to Breitbart News’ Alana Mastrangelo, who is on the ground in Ohio. pic.twitter.com/ZjQH6vuyF5

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 15, 2023

“That’s all they are really concerned about. It’s not us, it’s moving the money”.

Family protesting how the toxic train derailment was handled in East Palestine, Ohio.

📸@lincolnmjay & @realmonsanto https://t.co/bq2xTFq0nVpic.twitter.com/TEiPD9KdRx

— Rebel News USA (@RebelNews_USA) February 15, 2023

Citizen reporter on the ground in East Palestine, Ohio:

“It stinks out here… It smells really weird over here, for sure…. These are nice people, they don’t deserve to be nuked with toxic chemicals.” pic.twitter.com/Ib23XI91b3

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 15, 2023

And these toxic chemicals have also been identified in the Ohio river, which supplies more than 5 million people with drinking water, according to local news station WLWT.

“It’s not just what was in the tanker cars. It’s what happens when they burn and combine. This may be the largest dioxin plume in world history. I know of no more serious release, ever,” explained Eric F Coppolino of Planet Waves FM.

While vinyl chloride is a precursor chemical to making PVC, any time chlorinated compounds burn there will be dioxins created. And dioxin is a manufacturing byproduct of any manufacturing process involving chlorine, from “disinfectants” to the bleaching of paper. There was plenty of dioxin in those tanker cars before they caught fire.

This mess of 14 tanker cars (really, many more, but 14 had vinyl chloride) was then set on fire by the government, apparently to make it easier to clear the railroad tracks. This was the worst possible decision. It has turned many, many miles into what should be no-man’s land. But I have not heard of one single test for dioxin being done.

Must watch ! More on East Palestine, Ohio, toxic chemical burn may be the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/jcrBMdbp6y

— VeBee🇺🇸✝️ (@VeBo1991) February 13, 2023

About 60 miles south, the city of Steubenville detected butyl acrylate in their water intake, the same toxic chemical found in East Palestine, according to local news WTRF.

Recall the Biden administration and other federal officials were silent about the derailment for more than a week. This week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally spoke about the incident.

And on Feb. 8 press conference in East Palestine, a NewsNation reporter covering DeWine was arrested. DeWine said this week that the reporter should “never have occurred in the first place.” The reporter was merely just trying to report the news.

There’s been a massive lack of transparency since the derailment happened by the government and mainstream media. And we wonder why?

Look at an alleged aerial picture (posted on Reddit) overtop East Palestine during the controlled burn. Maybe this is why?

Meanwhile, environmentalist advocate Erin Brockovich called out the Biden administration to do more for residents of East Palestine:

“The Biden Administration needs to get more involved in this train derailment now. We are counting on you to break the chain of administration after administration to turn a blind eye.”

As for Norfolk Southern, they’re expected to rack up tens of millions of dollars in costs associated with cleanup and lawsuits.

“I’ve had discussions with some people who live right near ground zero who are hesitant to come back.”

 “There are people with young children, and they don’t know what effects it’s going to have,” James Wise, a local attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit against the railroad on behalf of some residents, told Bloomberg. 

And you would never guess who is one of the largest shareholders of Norfolk Southern… It’s ESG-pusher BlackRock.

Things that make you go, hmm…

And by the way, East Palestine scrapped a town hall for tonight as the toxic chemicals are causing illness among residents, according to the Independent.