When a train derailed in a small town in Ohio last month, it shed its toxic load, spewed smoke and set off a political firestorm that is still raging
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On the evening of 3 February, a train made up of 149 carriages and more than a mile long came off the rails in the small Ohio town of East Palestine. No one was injured but the train shed its cargo, which included toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen.
The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani has been reporting from East Palestine where residents have returned to their homes after those within the disaster’s exclusion zone were forced to leave the area. She tells Michael Safi that local people are furious about the way the accident happened – and how the cleanup has been handled.
Seeing an opportunity, Donald Trump arrived last week to distribute bottles of water as well as campaign material for his 2024 presidential run. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was criticised for visiting Ukraine rather than East Palestine.
This week, Ohio’s two senators have prepared a bill aimed at federal regulations around what trains can legally transport and under what conditions. But much of the anger from local people is focused on how close the rail industry has got to government in recent years, in order to allegedly water down existing restrictions, which many in East Palestine believe to be an important factor behind the disaster in their town.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
