A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, resulting from the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying chemicals on Monday, February 6, 2023. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/AP.
The derailment of a train transporting highly toxic chemical material in Ohio has been reported as an event that could affect the local population’s health. However, in the last few hours, the United States government has issued more information about the sightings of unidentified aerial objects than about this event.
The accident occurred during the night of February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, very close to the border with Pennsylvania.
According to the authorities’ latest account, five to ten of the nearly 50 carriages contained vinyl chloride, a dangerous chemical lethal to humans due to its high degree of toxicity.
The National Cancer Institute of the United States considers this substance to have properties that can lead to blood or lung cancer if breathed for a prolonged period of time. According to local media reports, the risk is that the vinyl chloride contaminates the region’s drinking water or continues to mix with the local air. Burning vinyl chloride produces hydrogen chloride and phosgene. The latter was common in World War I during chemical attacks.
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Despite this disaster, most US press — and even the White House itself — issued more information about the aerial objects that appeared in different parts of the United States and Canada. At the same time, conspiracy theories circulated on social media about alleged UFOs or extraterrestrial life being used as smokescreens to cover up the spilling and burning of toxic chemicals in Ohio.
“East Palestine, Ohio is undergoing an ecological disaster because authorities blew up the train derailment cars carrying hazardous chemicals and the press are being arrested for trying to tell the story. Oh, but UFOs! What is going on?” Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, a Republican, wrote on social media.
East Palestine, Ohio is undergoing an ecological disaster bc authorities blew up the train derailment cars carrying hazardous chemicals and press are being arrested for trying to tell the story.
Oh but UFO’s!
What is going on?
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 12, 2023
The train that derailed belongs to the Norfolk Southern railway company. In late 2022, railway workers were about to strike. One of their main grievances was the urgent need for safety improvements. However, in its characteristic desire to prioritize profits over workers — and later the community’s safety — the Biden Administration intervened in the union’s attempts to strike. This disaster comes after several governments, led by both democrats and republicans, have failed to fulfill their promises of improving US infrastructure.
According to reports from local authorities, several carriages exploded, generating a fire that was visible from miles away. The vinyl chloride stored in some carriages is used in the manufacturing of plastics such as cable coatings and packaging materials.
Faced with the risk of a major explosion, the authorities decided to perform a controlled release of the toxic gases caused by the burning of the transported material. They also decided to evacuate the population living within a one-mile radius of the accident. However, the measure was extended to Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Not all the residents wanted to leave their homes.
The authorities also warned that a plume of hydrogen chloride and phosgene would be created, a gas that causes health problems and is potentially lethal.
“Residents living within a mile of the train derailment site who have not yet left their homes are asked to immediately evacuate due to the potential of a major explosion,” Governor Mike DeWine stated.
East Palestine: Residents living within a mile of the train derailment site who have not yet left their homes are asked to immediately evacuate due to the potential of a major explosion. pic.twitter.com/F2BWmBipPx
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) February 6, 2023
Amid the disaster, journalist Evan Lambert was detained while investigating the environmental impact of the accident. Although he was released hours later, the case caused conspiracy theories to spread, including doubts regarding the true impact of the toxic gas release.
So far, residents of the area and some media have reported the death of fish, frogs, chickens, dogs and foxes, as well as air and water pollution.
NewsNation reporter @EvanLambertTV is out of an Ohio jail this morning, but many are asking why he was arrested in the first place.@JoeKhalilTV takes a step-by-step look, while providing his perspective as Evan’s friend and colleague.
READ MORE: https://t.co/irbzVg2V4J pic.twitter.com/PaK4oKFzvZ
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) February 9, 2023
Smokescreen?
On February 12, the Pentagon called a press conference to report on the alleged appearances of unidentified aerial objects in the United States and Canada. According to General Glen D. VanHerck, head of Air Force Northern Command, the United States intelligence and counterintelligence community continues to assess “every threat or potential threats unknown that approaches North America with an attempt to identify it.”
These statements came after the shooting down of the third unidentified flying object in just three days. “We call them objects [and not balloons] for a reason,” VanHerck said.
It was not long until conspiracy theories appeared on social media amid the lack of clarity from the US authorities, to the point that some media outlets in other countries have called the train accident the US Chernobyl.
For its part, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that a mechanical problem was the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that the environmental damage is limited.
(Sputnik) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
