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  1. #76
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    • White House: GOP, Trump officials ‘laid the groundwork’ for loose railway regulations


    The White House on Wednesday blamed Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration for lax railway and environmental regulations in the aftermath of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled toxic chemicals.

    Andrew Bates, a deputy White House press secretary, argued congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials “owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists,” pointing to past efforts to loosen regulations.

    “Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes, and last year most House Republicans wanted to defund our ability to protect drinking water,” Bates said in a statement.

    “There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA,” he added.

    Bates also pointed to a 2021 letter 20 Republican senators wrote to the deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, urging the agency to expand the use of automated track inspections.

    The White House also noted that the Republican Study Committee, which consists of dozens of House GOP lawmakers, last year proposed cuts to government funding to address chemical spills, as well as an elimination of the Surface Water Protection Program.

    Politico reported Wednesday that the Trump administration rolled back several safety measures for railways, including regular safety audits and an Obama-era rule that required faster brakes on trains carrying flammable materials.

    Those measures were part of a broader agenda of deregulation under Trump, who repeatedly sought to loosen restrictions and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

    Bates’s statement going after Republicans for their record on rail safety and environmental regulations comes as the White House takes heat from GOP lawmakers over its response to the derailment in East Palestine, and on the same day former President Trump visited the town.

    The Norfolk Southern train derailment spilled a number of chemicals into the area, including a carcinogen called vinyl chloride that is used to make plastic.

    Officials temporarily evacuated the area, but have since said it is safe to return. Many community members, however, continue to express concerns about the air and water quality since the incident.

    The EPA on Tuesday issued a legally binding order requiring Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water, reimburse the EPA for the cleaning that it is doing and attend public meetings at the agency’s request.
    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  2. #77
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Report: RRD23MR005.aspx




    The crew of the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, attempted to stop it after receiving a "critical" alert about an overheating wheel bearing just before the crash, an investigation found.

    Why it matters: The preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigation released Thursday came as residents push for answers from officials over the potential health dangers of exposure to the toxic chemicals released in the wake of the crash.




    The latest: NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a press conference after the report's release that the board will hold a rare investigative field hearing in East Palestine this spring.


    • The goal of the hearing will be to inform the public, collect factual information from witnesses, discuss possible solutions and "build consensus for change," Homendy said.


    The NTSB found:


    • As the crew slowed the train to inspect cars for a hot axle, an automatic emergency brake application initiated, which may indicate the train experienced a separation during deceleration.
    • Before starting to slow down, the crew received a critical audible alarm message indicating the temperature of a railcar wheel bearing was greater than 200°F above the ambient temperature at the time.
    • "After the train stopped, the crew observed fire and smoke and notified the Cleveland East dispatcher of a possible derailment," the report reads.
    • Thirty-eight railcars were involved in the derailment, including 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that ignited after the wreck and damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars.
    • First responders mitigated the fire from the initial wreck on Feb. 5, but five tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride concerned authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was rising, suggesting the chemical was undergoing a polymerization reaction and could explode.
    • Because of the explosion risk, first responders vented and burned vinyl chloride — a colorless but hazardous and carcinogenic gas — in the five cars after expanding an evacuation zone around the crash site, according to the NTSB.
    • The train was travelling around 47 miles per hour at the time of the derailment, roughly 3 mph below the maximum authorized speed of 50 mph.


    "This was 100 percent preventable," Homendy said during the press conference. "We call things accidents, there is no accident. Every single event that we investigate is preventable."


    • Homendy said the NTSB had no role in the decision to vent and burn the chemicals. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine previously said he authorized the operation, which occurred after residents of the town were evacuated.


    The NTSB said surveillance video from a local residence showed a wheel bearing on the first railcar that derailed "in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment."


    • That wheel bearing and other equipment have been collected as evidence by the NTSB for its ongoing investigation, it said.
    • Homendy said the NTSB will investigate how Norfolk Southern uses wayside defect detectors (that caused the alert) on its railways, how its crews are alarmed and respond to defect alerts and its maintenance and inspection procedures for railcars.


    The big picture: Norfolk Southern executives in an earnings call presentation on Jan. 23 — just weeks before the East Palestine derailment — said the rate of accidents on its railways had increased in each of the last four years.


    • The Environmental Protection Agency ordered the company on Tuesday to clean up contamination from the crash under a plan approved by the agency.
    • The Department of Transportation on Tuesday also called for multiple measures to increase rail safety and hold rail operators responsible for violating safety regulations.

  3. #78
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    East Palestine residents file class-action against Norfolk Southern

    A Youngstown, Ohio-based law firm has announced a class-action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway over the derailment of a train in East Palestine, using a strategy it says echoes the state’s 1990s lawsuit against tobacco companies.

    The firm, Johnson and Johnson, is partnering with class-action law firm Hagens Berman on behalf of all residents within 30 miles of the derailment site. The lawsuit specifically invokes the legal doctrine of “public nuisance,” the backbone of both the landmark 1990s lawsuits against the tobacco industry and ongoing litigation against opioid manufacturers and fossil fuel companies. Hagens Berman represented the state of Ohio in tobacco litigation as well as an ongoing opioid suit.

    In addition to punitive damages, the lawsuit also seeks the creation of a fund for medical monitoring, new testing and cleaning procedures and injunctive relief in the form of safety and compliance oversight.

    The Environmental Protection Agency has already said it will compel Norfolk Southern to cover all cleanup expenses, as well as the lodging costs for residents who were temporarily evacuated. In an email to The Hill, Hagens Berman managing partner Steve Berman said the lawsuit’s aims were distinct from those expenses.

    “All of our lawsuit’s proposed benefits (monetary damages for all injured businesses & residents/individuals within 30 miles of the derailment, establishment of testing & cleaning protocols, a medical monitoring fund, injunctive relief oversight to Norfolk Southern’s safety & compliance programs) would be above and beyond what the EPA would have for residents,” Berman said. “Additionally, we will want a say in what an effective cleanup is.”

    The Norfolk Southern train derailed Feb. 3, toppling multiple cars containing hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, a toxic substance used in the manufacture of plastics. State and federal authorities have said the air and water are safe for residents, but earlier this week, the state Department of Natural Resources updated its estimate of animals that have died in the area from 35,000 to more than 43,000.

    A Norfolk Southern spokesperson said the company cannot comment on ongoing litigation.

  4. #79
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    "This was 100 percent preventable," Homendy said during the press conference. "We call things accidents, there is no accident.
    in a nutshell

  5. #80
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    The only way to respond to thread like this one , is to ignore it.Obviously it is a troll thread I can not imagine anyone could possibly be that stupid.

  6. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    The only way to respond to thread like this one , is to ignore it
    ....

  7. #82
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Buttigieg pledges new actions on hazardous trains, asks Congress and industry to act

    DOT said Tuesday that it plans to issue new rules on train brakes and other items in the wake of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and is also calling for action from Congress and the firefight rail industry.

    DOT says it will pursue rulemaking on high-hazard flammable trains and electronically controlled pneumatic brakes. It did not specify what the rule would do, but it will likely hew to a 2015 rule that was withdrawn under the Trump administration that would have required some trains carrying hazardous materials to install this type

    They’ll also initiate focused safety inspection programs on train routes over which hazardous materials travel as well as of older tank cars “and the shippers and railroads who have chosen not to upgrade to llance video: Ohio train ignited sparks ahead of derailment

    DOT also highlighted a rule in the works to require a minimum train crew of two people, which industry has opposed, and pledged to spend resources from the 2021 infrastructure law that can be spent on rail safety improvements.

    DOT also wants railroads to give state authorities a heads-up when hazardous gas tank cars will be passing through. DOT said it’s also working on requiring this through regulation, “but railroads should not wait.”

    The department is asking the railroads — including but not limited to Norfolk Southern — to do the following:

    — Proactively let state emergency response teams know when they are transporting tank cars with hazardous gases through their states;

    — Join FRA’s whistleblower protection program, which many smaller railroads and passenger railroads participate in but which the major freights do not;

    — Deploy automated track inspection technology without asking to get rid of human inspectors;

    — Move up the phase-in of safer, more durable tank cars that railroads had lobbied to delay until 2029, currently slated for 2025; and

    — Provide workers paid sick leave, the unfinished business of the resolution of the strike threat last year.

    What DOT wants from Congress: DOT called on Congress to increase maximum fines for rail safety violations from the current $225,455 cap, which the agency called “a rounding error” for profitable companies.

    In a letter Sunday to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, Pete Buttigieg noted the railroad’s “exceptionally profitable business,” running a 38 percent operating margin and issuing $18 billion in stock buybacks and dividends over the last five years — “reportedly twice as much as the amount Norfolk Southern invested in its railways and operations.”

    Railroads’ response: Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies did not respond to DOT’s specific recommendations or planned actions but said Tuesday that a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the derailment — which likely won’t wrap up for at least another year — should provide the roadmap toward future actions.

    Jeffries said the NTSB investigation “must continue unimpeded by politics and speculation so NTSB’s findings can guide what additional measures may have prevented this accident.” He said the only way to restore the public’s trust in rail safety is “by letting the facts drive the post-accident response.”

  8. #83
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    The only way to respond to thread like this one , is to ignore it.Obviously it is a troll thread I can not imagine anyone could possibly be that stupid.
    Well in fairness the flouncer posting about it with the misleading title was straight out of the chinky propaganda manual, but it still merits discussion in its own right.

    Yes, baldy orange cunto and the republicans in general cut regulations hand over fist, increasing the chances of accidents like this.

    But why didn't Buttigieg and the Democrats restore them before it happened, rather than in response to a major incident?
    The next post may be brought to you by my little bitch Spamdreth

  9. #84
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    East Palestine train derailment: Rail industry criticizes new safety regulations

    Railroad pushback to safety regulations scrutinized amid East Palestine disaster

    The freight rail industry’s lobbying efforts to oppose stronger safety standards are under intense scrutiny following the devastating Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

    Officials are still investigating the cause of the Feb. 3 accident, in which 11 rail cars spilled hazardous chemicals that are being intentionally burned to avoid a massive explosion, prompting fears from area residents about exposure to toxic substances.

    But lawmakers, federal officials and union leaders are already placing the blame on rail companies, pointing to the industry’s decades-long opposition to stricter safety regulations.

    Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this week called for a slew of new railroad rules, including more stringent braking requirements and larger fines for railroads that violate safety regulations.

    He called on Norfolk Southern to support new rail safety rules instead of mobilizing against them.

    “Rather than support these efforts to improve rail safety, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies spent millions of dollars in the courts and lobbying members of Congress to oppose common-sense safety regulations, stopping some entirely and reducing the scope of others,” Buttigieg wrote in a letter to Norfolk Southern.

    “That must change,” he added.

    Railroads spent big to block safety regulations

    Railroads are an influential force in Congress and state legislatures, using their lobbying power to kill several regulatory proposals aimed at boosting safety.

    The four largest U.S. railroads and their trade association together spent over $480 million on federal lobbying over the last two decades, according to data from nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets. Norfolk Southern actually spent the least of the top railroads, shelling out $69 million over that period.

    “Rail companies have spent millions of dollars to oppose common-sense safety regulations. And it’s worked. This is more than a train derailment or a toxic waste spill — it’s years of opposition to safety measures coming home to roost,” President Joe Biden tweeted Tuesday.

    Norfolk Southern and other railroads successfully lobbied Republicans in Congress to pass a measure delaying the implementation of a 2015 Obama administration rule that would have required more trains to be equipped with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes.

    Regulators say those modern systems would have boosted train safety and braking performance.

    The Trump administration rescinded the rule in 2018, echoing the industry’s concerns that the costs to implement ECP brakes outweighed the benefits. An Associated Press report found that the Trump administration omitted up to $117 million in future damages from train derailments in its analysis.

    Thousands of rail workers have submitted comments in support of the rule, arguing that accidents are more likely when they work solo.

    “At what point does the greed of Wall Street outweigh the safety of the average citizen? A minimum of 2 person crews needs to be in place for the foreseeable future to protect the environment, our water supply, and life,” Colorado-based conductor Charles Noonan wrote in a comment to regulators, noting that trains carry massive amounts of hazardous materials through populated areas.

    In 2021, Norfolk Southern defeated a bipartisan bill in Ohio that would have mandated two-person crews, arguing that the legislation would create legal issues by conflicting with federal law.

    The company donated $98,000 to Ohio candidates over the last six years, according to an analysis from ABC 6 On Your Side.

    Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) tweeted that Norfolk Southern should invest its lobbying budget toward supporting the reinstatement of “essential rail safety rules,” a move that’s highly unlikely to happen.

    Railroads are currently lobbying against Iowa legislation to limit the maximum train length to 1.6 miles, roughly half the length of some freight trains operating today.

    There are no federal regulations on train length, despite outcry from workers who say that longer trains lead to more dangerous accidents.

    Buttigieg is calling on Congress to enact other reforms that will likely draw opposition from railroads.

    He wants lawmakers to increase fines from the current maximum of roughly $225,000 — which Buttigieg called a “rounding error” for the top carriers — and implement stronger laws governing ECP brakes and trains carrying hazardous materials.

    Would stronger rules have stopped the crash?

    The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) planned to release a preliminary report on the incident Thursday. Surveillance footage appeared to show a wheel bearing catching fire shortly before the derailment.

    NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy noted that the Obama administration’s ECP brake rule would not have prevented the crash, as it only applied to trains carrying large quantities of highly-flammable liquids.

    The threshold for that rule was at least 20 train cars of highly flammable liquid, but Norfolk Southern train was only carrying three cars of flammable gas.

    “This means even if the rule had gone into effect, this train wouldn’t have had ECP brakes,” Homendy said in a tweet.

    Still, union officials and workers say that faltering maintenance driven by the railroad industry’s shift toward precision scheduled railroading (PSR) — which involves using technology to move more cargo with fewer trains and workers — may have caused the failure.

    Railroads have slashed their workforce by 30% since 2017

    Railroads cut down on their workforce by around 30 percent over the last six years in an effort to boost profits and attract investors.

    It’s worked financial wonders for Norfolk Southern, which made a record $4.8-billion profit last year and shelled out $3.4 billion on stock buybacks. But it has also angered rail workers, who complain about long hours and unpredictable schedules.

    Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National President Eddie Hall backed Buttigieg’s proposed rail reforms, but lamented that the Transportation Secretary didn’t mention PSR, which unions say has led to a reduction in thorough inspections of rail cars.

    “Railroads largely self-regulate and PSR has led to irresponsible practices at the cost of safety,” Hall said in a statement. “It needs to be eliminated or reformed.”

    While Norfolk Southern has committed to working with regulators to make the railroad safer, it hasn’t committed to any specific reforms.

    “I’m looking forward to having discussions with our regulators and elected officials on how we can make Norfolk Southern a safer railroad,” Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said in a televised interview with CNBC. “We’re very focused on science-based solutions.”

    Meanwhile, the Association of American Railroads, the industry’s top lobbying group, is already pushing back on Buttigieg’s proposals, noting that railroads’ hazmat accident rate has decreased 55 percent over the last decade.

    “The NTSB’s independent investigators continue their work to identify the accident’s root cause and contributing factors,” Association of American Railroads CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement. “That investigation must continue unimpeded by politics and speculation so NTSB’s findings can guide what additional measures may have prevented this accident.”

  10. #85
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Acyn - Buttigieg: One thing Trump can do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it. So if he had nothing to do with it.. https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1628804650702082050

    What Buttigieg said about trump (in the very first part of this video below)......



  11. #86
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    authorities decided the better of “two bad options” was to release and burn the vinyl chloride, DeWine said Tuesday. The move sent dangerous gases, hydrogen chloride and phosgene, into the air, but averted an explosion that DeWine said he had been told would be “catastrophic.”
    Thank you for your informative posts.

    It appears that those responsible for allowing the shipping of dangerous chemicals on trains in NaGaStan, the state governments through which thes "dangerous gases" are travelling, do not have agreed procedures on how to manage all possible "accidents".

    Maybe the "authorities" need to stop such “catastrophic” events being possible.

    Some new "rules" need to be made mandatory.

    For all the worlds citizens and the general environment safety and health.
    Last edited by OhOh; 26-02-2023 at 09:16 PM.
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  12. #87
    Excommunicated baldrick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    on trains in NaGaStan
    the chin corps own the railways in seppoland and are loath to spend money on safety

  13. #88
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    ^ IIRC the state determines the rules governing railways, not the railway owners.

    Whoever the railways owners/users are.

  14. #89
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Transport of East Palestine soil, water to other states prompts backlash

    Officials in Texas and Michigan are raising concerns about the water and soil transported from the East Palestine train derailment into their jurisdictions.

    Why it matters: Their comments come as East Palestine residents report diagnoses of bronchitis and other conditions which they attribute to the crash. The freight train was carrying hazardous materials, including the carcinogenic gas vinyl chloride, when it derailed on Feb. 3 and forced the company to release and burn the contents of several cars.

    What they're saying: "I and my team learned yesterday that firefighting water from East Palestine was going to be sent to Deer Park, which is one of the 34 cities in Harris County, for disposal," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a press conference Thursday.


    • "I learned about this not from a regulatory agency, not from the company, but from a member of the press, and that's unacceptable," Hidalgo noted, adding that she only learned Thursday that the water actually began arriving a week ago.
    • "There are many things we don't know that we should know."


    Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) similarly said in a statement Friday that "[w]e were not given a heads up" about the transportation of contaminated soil from East Palestine to U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal, Inc. in Belleville, Michigan.


    • "We are making inquiries of EPA, DOT, Norfolk Southern, U.S. Ecology, the state of Ohio, and all others involved to understand what is being shipped, whether these are approved storage facilities, the implications of this decision, and how we ensure the safety of all Michigan residents."


    Officials in Wayne County, where the U.S. ecology facility is located, said they're still not sure how the waste is being transported, per local ABC News affiliate WXYZ.


    • "1.8 million people are being sandbagged," Wayne County Executive Warren Evans noted at a press conference Friday. "Vinyl chloride is a serious carcinogen and something we should have heard about sooner.


    • "The landfill taking the deep well injections is a facility cited many times and shut down in the past," Evans added. "Any of us that live and breathe are at risk."


    The big picture: The crash has drawn ire and demands for accountability from both sides of the aisle.

    _______

    EPA temporarily halts removal of contaminated waste from East Palestine derailment

    Officials in Michigan and Texas last week pushed back against the plan by the company to relocate some of the waste to areas in their states. Now, any relocation of the waste will have to go through the EPA for approval.

    “EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and lawful manner at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of hazardous substances and impacts to communities,” Shore said.

  15. #90
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Lawyers accuse Norfolk Southern of destroying evidence in toxic train wreck

    Lawyers for plaintiffs in one of the class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern accused the railway company of planning to intentionally destroy crucial evidence in the lawsuits over the train derailment in East Palestine that released toxic fumes into the air and water.

    “Without any discussion with Plaintiffs’ counsel, Defendants unilaterally chose to make the railcars available for inspection only on February 28, 2023 and March 1, 2023,” lawyers for Andrew Erdos and David Anderson, both Pennsylvania residents with business within five miles of the train derailment site, argued in a filing on Friday. “After that time period, Norfolk Southern’s counsel advises that the railcars ‘will be removed or otherwise destroyed so that Norfolk Southern can continue its work at the site.'”

    The lawyers say that the railway’s lawyers have had “unlimited access to the derailment site” since the Feb. 3 crash, when 38 cars of a 149-car train — 11 of them carrying hazardous materials — derailed in East Palestine, an Ohio city near the Pennsylvania border. The train caught fire, burning for several days.

    Norfolk Southern “decided to release and burn off the vinyl chloride,” sending “a large plume of thick black smoke into a mushroom cloud, which dispersed toxic hydrogen chloride and phosphene gas into the atmosphere” on Jan. 6, according to the lawsuit.

    “Plaintiffs and their experts have not yet had any time to view and inspect the derailment site, nor have they been given access to any relevant evidence, including the 11 hazardous material railcars,” the plaintiffs’ injunction request says. “Norfolk Southern has had unfettered access to the wreckage it caused and the ability to do testing, take photographs, collect measurements and samples, and conduct any other discovery it so chose for the last three weeks. Now, Norfolk Southern has unilaterally decided to give Plaintiffs’ experts access to its carnage for only two days to conduct any investigation that is needed.”

    The lawyers requested a temporary restraining order and an injunction barring Norfolk Southern from moving the cars until all their experts have had a chance to examine the site.

    The legal team for Norfolk Southern insisted that it was engaging in necessary remediation and clean-up efforts pursuant to state and federal agencies.

    “The EPA, State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (‘Ohio EPA’), and the residents of East Palestine, Ohio all want to remove hazardous waste and other waste from the site as quickly as possible,” the defendants argued, noting that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave deadlines as early as March 4 for Norfolk Southern to remove some of the contaminated matter.

    Specifically, the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to remove contaminated soil from the site by March 4, 2023 and residue in tank cars by March 10, 2023. The railway must remove and dispose soil beneath the first track by March 10, and from the second track by March 20, 2023.

    The EPA also ordered that sampling of the soil must end by March 31, 2023, the defense lawyers said.

    The defense lawyers also argued that federal law limits U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson’s ability to “challenge EPA clean-up decisions” and that the plaintiffs are trying to “hold the public’s interest hostage to their own interests” by blocking “full and complete remediation” of the derailment site.

    In a ruling on Monday, Pearson, a Barack Obama appointee, urged the parties to follow a timeline that suggests a compromise of sorts.

    “In balancing the importance of Plaintiffs having the opportunity to collect the evidence necessary for litigation and the urgent need for remediation to limit the impact on the public’s health and safety, the Court proposed a solution that does not extend the EPA’s provided timeline for cleaning up the derailment site but, rather, focuses the allotment of time given Plaintiffs to inspect and collect evidence, while allowing Defendants sufficient time to remove the 9 remaining rail cars by 3/10/2023,” the order says, according to the federal docket. Pearson’s proposal would give the plaintiffs until Thursday, if necessary, to inspect the five cars that contained vinyl chloride, and would allow Norfolk Southern to “safely dispose” of those five rail cars after that time.

    Four cars that do not contain vinyl chloride would be relocated “with the goal of preserving as much evidence as possible” and would be available for the plaintiffs to inspect and collect evidence as needed, Pearson wrote.

    The parties were ordered to discuss the judge’s recommendation and return to court Monday afternoon.

    According to the railway company’s latest update, it has reimbursed the East Palestine Fire Department for $825,000 for fire equipment used in responding to the derailment, donated $300,000 to the East Palestine school district, delivered dozens of water pallets to the community, provided air purifiers to more than 100 homes, and given financial support in the form of gift cards, flower purchases, and a $1 million community fund.

  16. #91
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    East Palestine residents seeing outreach from FEMA, CDC after derailment

    Federal teams including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be on the ground in East Palestine, Ohio this weekend conducting door-to-door outreach to support residents impacted by the train derailment.

    Driving the news: The move comes amid mounting concern over health risks and toxic effects from the crash, which forced operator Norfolk Southern to release and burn hazardous contents from some of the train cars.

    Details: Teams will be meeting with residents to connect them with resources from government and nonprofit organizations, gather intel about ongoing concerns and "identify any unmet needs," according to a press release from the Biden administration.


    • The EPA has also announced a new hotline set up to provide services including guidance for air monitoring, water sampling and cleaning services. Those seeking assistance can contact 866-361-0526 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.


    The big picture: The East Palestine community is already seeing the aftereffects of the train derailment, with residents and workers near the site reporting diagnoses of chemical bronchitis and other conditions possibly connected to exposure to some toxins, NBC News reports.


    • At a hearing held by Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) on Thursday — East Palestine is on the edge of Pennsylvania’s western border — multiple residents spoke about symptoms they attributed to the crash and subsequent chemical release, including burning lips, itchy eyes, rashes and diarrhea.
    • Several expressed fears about air, water and soil contamination. "We’re afraid to live in our homes," Amanda Kemmer testified.

  17. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    Details: Teams will be meeting with residents to connect them with resources from government and nonprofit organizations, gather intel about ongoing concerns and "identify any unmet needs,
    25 days after the derailment, is the place hard to find on Google maps or did they land in Israel first hoping to find the place?

  18. #93
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Wasn’t difficult to find. There was a cloud of smoke to follow.

    Anyway, the accident happened Feb 3. EPA was on site Feb 4.

  19. #94
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    EPA was on site Feb 4.
    Excellent artical.

  20. #95
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    The CEO of Norfolk Southern railroad will testify in Congress next week about last month’s fiery Ohio derailment and the precautions the railroad takes to prevent similar crashes.

    The railroad said Wednesday that Alan Shaw had agreed to appear before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works next Thursday. He is likely to face tough questions about whether the railroad has been investing enough in safety as it slashed jobs and streamlined operations in recent years to rely on fewer, longer trains.

    __________

    • A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation to address safety issues highlighted by the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, Ohio.


    Why it matters: Major freight operators have fended off tighter regulations for years, but the tragic derailment appears to have changed the calculus.


    • Some of the measures included in the Railway Safety Act of 2023 have long been on the agenda of the industry's unions and workers — particularly a provision requiring a crew of at least two people on each train.


    Driving the news: The bill was introduced Wednesday by the two senators from Ohio, J.D. Vance (R) and Sherrod Brown (D), along with two Democratic senators from Pennsylvania, Bob Casey and John Fetterman. The derailment happened near the border between the two states.


    • Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also signed on.


    Details: The legislation appears crafted as a response to many of the criticisms and reports that surfaced after the derailment.


    • It places more safety requirements on trains carrying hazardous chemicals; rail carriers, for example, would have to submit "gas discharge" plans for these chemicals. (In East Palestine, local authorities carried out a "controlled release" of toxic gas that led to a fire and "controlled explosion.")
    • The bill also significantly increases the maximum fine the Transportation Department can levy for safety violations to 1% of a railroad's annual operating income from $225,000.
    • That could amount to about $47 million for Norfolk Southern, for example, based on the company's 2022 earnings.


    The bill also tightens the rules around what's sometimes called a "wayside hot box detector," which is a mechanism that's supposed to alert the crew to overheating on a train's bearings, axles and brakes.


    • The bill would allow the government to set the temperature at which a detector's alarm would be triggered, instead of leaving that to the railroad's discretion.


    Zoom out: Labor leaders like the bill; the railroads are less positive. And it's unclear where pivotal Republican leaders stand as of now.

    What they're saying: "It offers a chance for the nation to make the giant rail corporations take rational measures to get the industry to do what it’s designed to do — move freight through our nation safely and efficiently,” says Jeremy Ferguson, president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division.


    • "Railroads have been clear that they support fact-driven policies that address the cause of this accident and enhance safety," says a spokesman for the Association of American Railroads, adding that some aspects of the bill wouldn't prevent an accident like the one in East Palestine. "Railroads look forward to working with all stakeholders to meaningfully advance real solutions," he says.


    But, but, but: Federal investigators are still looking into what happened in East Palestine and some legislators may not be inclined to support a bill until the investigators' work is done.


    • The bill lacks the support of Republican congressional leaders — Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told CNN he's waiting for all the facts to come in before taking action.


    The bottom line: The bill's fate will likely come down to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, whose office says he hasn’t taken a position on it, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

    What we're watching: Labor unions say East Palestine cleanup site workers are falling ill.


    __________

    • EPA to require Norfolk Southern to test directly for dioxins in East Palestine


    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday that it will require Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins in East Palestine, Ohio, in the wake of last month’s train derailment.

    The railroad company will also be required to conduct a background study comparing dioxin levels in the eastern Ohio town to those in other areas, and the EPA will continue sampling for “indicator chemicals,” the agency noted.

    Dioxins are persistent environmental pollutants with “highly toxic potential,” according to the World Health Organization.
    While the EPA said on Thursday that its testing continues to suggest a “low probability” that dioxins were released from the incident, the burning of vinyl chloride — a toxic substance used in the manufacture of plastics — can create the pollutants, experts told The Associated Press.

    After the East Palestine derailment, officials conducted a controlled release and burn-off of vinyl chloride from several cars, amid concerns about a potential explosion.

    Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R) have previously expressed concerns to the state government and the federal EPA about dioxins.

    “Over the last few weeks, I’ve sat with East Palestine residents and community leaders in their homes, businesses, churches, and schools,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday in a statement. “I’ve heard their fears and concerns directly, and I’ve pledged that these experiences would inform EPA’s ongoing response efforts.”

    Regan previously vowed that the agency would not “second-guess anyone’s experience” as it responded to the derailment.

    In the face of heavy criticism over his administration’s response to the incident, President Biden said on Thursday that he will visit East Palestine “at some point.”

    “I’ve spoken with every official in Ohio, Democrat and Republican, on a continuing basis, as in Pennsylvania,” Biden told reporters at the Capitol, adding, “We will be implementing an awful lot through the legislation here, and I will be out there at some point.”

    Biden also threw his support behind a bipartisan bill that would tighten federal oversight of trains carrying hazardous materials.

    “I applaud the bipartisan group of senators for proposing rail safety legislation that provides many of the solutions that my administration has been calling for,” he said Thursday in a statement.

    https://thehill.com/policy/energy-en...ast-palestine/

  21. #96
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    The Ohio Catastrophe-train-jpeg
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails The Ohio Catastrophe-2079010_1nwqr6qv3iu3oj5_full-jpeg  

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    Poor old Pete Buttegieg. Of all the Biden-style howlers he has to make in a public interview, it's to stumble over his words and then say:

    "Sorry, I lost my train of thought"


  23. #98
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    In leaked audio heard by the Guardian, a manager for one of the US’s largest rail companies can be heard explaining to a former carman that they should stop tagging railcars for broken bearings. The manager says doing so delays other cargo.

    The disclosure comes as federal agencies investigate the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. A wheel-bearing failure was cited as the cause of the crash in a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

    In late 2016, Stephanie Griffin, a former Union Pacific carman, went to her manager with concerns that she was getting pushback for tagging – or reporting for repair – railcars. Her manager told her it was OK to skip inspections.

    Griffin asked if the manager could put that in writing. “That’s weird,” said the manager. “We have 56 other people who are not bad-ordering stuff out there. You’re definitely not going to get in trouble for it.”

    Griffin said: “He refused to bad-order [mark for repair] cars for bad wheel bearings. My boss took issue with it because it increased our dwell time. When that happened, corporate offices would start berating management to release the cars.”

    Dwell time refers to the time a train spends at a scheduled stop without moving. “It’s very obvious that management is not concerned with public safety, and only concerned with making their numbers look good,” Griffin said.

    Griffin also claimed she and other workers did not receive any formal training to inspect and repair railcars, and were left to learn from an older worker and figure the rest out from American Association of Railroads and Federal Railroad Administration handbooks. Griffin suggested all major railroad carriers operate similarly.

    As part of her job at the railyard, Griffin was to inspect all railcars on inbound journeys for defects and put a tag on them to send the cars to the railroad yard repair shop. On outbound journeys, workers were supposed to check the cars’ air brakes and make a final inspection. But, she said, management, at the behest of corporate, undermined workers’ effectiveness on the job.

    She said: “The regulation at the time stated that a wheel bearing was bad when it had ‘visible seepage’. But that was very vague, and the bosses used that vagueness to their advantage. For me, it was whenever oil was visible on the bearing. For my bosses, they wanted actual droplets and proof it would leak on the ground.

    “Most railroad workers are fighting against an entire system that only exists as a money-making apparatus to the wealthy. Those trains run through our towns, but they do not run next to rich folks’ homes, nor next to our politicians’ homes. This is a top-down problem.”

    A spokesperson for Union Pacific said in an email: “Nothing is more important than the safety of Union Pacific employees and the communities we serve. Union Pacific does not have the alleged recording and cannot comment on its authenticity.”

    It added: “Employees are expected and encouraged to report concerns, and have a number of avenues to do so, including a 24/7 anonymous hotline and they are firmly protected from retaliation.”

    The East Palestine derailment has prompted a wave of scrutiny into the railroad industry’s record of deregulation and blocking safety rules.

    Train-brake rules were rolled back under the Trump administration and have not been restored; hazardous material regulations were watered down at the behest of the railroad industry; and railroad workers have been decrying the safety impacts incited by years of staffing cuts, poor working conditions and neglect by railroad corporations in favor of Wall Street investors.

    The rate of train derailments has increased over the past decade, with two derailments per every 1m miles traveled on the railroads, compared to 1.71 derailments in 2013. There were 818 derailments reported in 2022, with 447 train cars carrying hazardous materials either damaged or derailed.

  24. #99
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    • ‘Evacuate Us!’ Fear and Anxiety Boil Over as Residents Confront Train Company on Derailment


    Frustrations boiled over on Thursday night in the largest public confrontation yet between the people of East Palestine and the operator of the freight train that derailed nearly a month ago, with angry residents in an emotional town hall lashing out at the lone representative from Norfolk Southern who took questions at the meeting.

    As Darrell Wilson, a top government relations official for Norfolk Southern, tried repeatedly to apologize to the community and outline the company’s recovery efforts, residents interrupted and shouted over him, demanding that he commit to getting them out of the area, and that the company “do the right thing.”

    “We are sorry,” Mr. Wilson said. “We’re very sorry for what happened. We feel horrible about it.”

    “Evacuate us!” one person yelled, over Mr. Wilson’s apologies. “Get my grandchildren out of here!” another man yelled. “If you care about us, get our grandkids out.”

    Standing before Mr. Wilson and an assortment of environmental, health and political officials in the auditorium of East Palestine High School, residents vented and pleaded, describing how their families were still living in hotels or experiencing lingering health problems, including repeated vomiting and rashes.

    They told the officials how they felt trapped, with few resources to move away from the homes they had spent their lives building, and demanded more answers about the validity of the testing done on their air, water and soil.

    Norfolk Southern had abruptly pulled out of a previously scheduled meeting last month, citing unspecified threats to officials.

    The fiery clash underscored how deeply anxiety and mistrust still run in East Palestine, a town of about 4,700 people, after the derailment on Feb. 3. The decision to burn the train’s cargo of vinyl chloride and other chemicals in order to avert the threat of an explosion heightened fears in the community about the long-term consequences of chemical exposure, and the meeting on Thursday night appeared to do little to assuage them.

    Earlier on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency said it had instructed Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins, toxic pollutants that could have formed after the chemical burn-off. And last month, the E.P.A. issued an order that not only demanded that the company pay for all cleanup associated with the disaster, but also required that it “attend and participate in public meetings at E.P.A.’s request” — including Thursday’s town hall.

    But the continued discontentment with both the rail company and government agencies was evident just minutes into the meeting.

    “Why did you wait so long?” one man yelled out as Debra Shore, the E.P.A. regional administrator, explained the February order and the requirement to test for dioxins. As the director of the Ohio E.P.A., Anne M. Vogel, reiterated that testing of the water had yet to show high levels of contaminants, another woman yelled out: “What about private wells? We’ll just stay here and die.”

    And as E.P.A. officials reiterated that dioxin testing had begun, people yelled out, “Start now!” and “It’s too late!”

    Dioxins can cause cancer, interfere with hormones and cause damage to reproductive and immune systems, according to the E.P.A. While the toxic pollutants are already present in many environments — they can be byproducts of burning fuel, among other things — the E.P.A. has been working for decades to reduce their production.

    Ms. Shore also said the agency was working to approve a plan that would remove the railroad tracks, as well as the contaminated soil underneath. And she acknowledged that the derailment had upended homes that had been there for generations, pledging that her agency and others were committed to the recovery effort.

    “We owe it to everyone, to everyone affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment, to ensure that you continue to build those roots, that future generations can continue to proudly call this area home,” she said. “That is what E.P.A. is working toward. And we will not be leaving until you are satisfied.”

    It is Norfolk Southern that has faced the largest barrage of demands and intensifying scrutiny from lawmakers and officials, who are furious over not only the derailment, but also the consequences of the decision to burn off some of the toxic chemicals carried by the train.

    Mr. Wilson, the company representative, repeatedly struggled to speak over the angry crowd on Thursday, even as he pledged that Norfolk Southern would continue to support the community and that it had signed a lease in the town.

    “They're sending a representative because they’re scared,” said Courtney Miller, 35, who lives about 100 yards from the derailment site, she said. “They’re scared because we’re mad, we’re upset.”

    “These people care, and I can’t leave them,” she added, her voice choking up. “So I will stand here and stomp my feet and be as loud as I can, until somebody does something and gets these people out of here. It’s not safe.”

    While the company’s chief executive, Alan H. Shaw, separately made a trip to meet with local officials and some railroad employees last month, some residents were disappointed to not be able to confront him on Thursday.

    At one point, someone in the crowd could be heard asking, “Where’s Alan?” Another person passed out T-shirts mocking the company’s logo, rebranding it as “Nofolk sufferin” and replacing the logo’s horse with a broken train.

    Candice Desanzo, 43, who came to the meeting with her 1- and 2-year-old sons, said she was worried about their health and determined to speak to Mr. Shaw directly.

    “If I did somebody wrong, I’m going to stand up and I’m going to face my wrongs,” she said. “And I’m just one simple human being — they’re a corporation.”

    Like other residents, she expressed frustration with the race to ensure that trains were back running through the town as soon as the evacuation order had been lifted.

    “Every time I hear a train, it makes me sick now,” she said. “It’s just mind-blowing to me how really ignorant they’ve been to us in every possible way that they could when they should be doing everything that they possibly can to help us.”

    Mr. Shaw is also set to testify before a key Senate committee next week as lawmakers and state officials demand more information about what led to the derailment and the possible long-term effects on the region’s environment and public health.

    “You’re going to determine the finish line — you’re going to determine when it’s made right,” Representative Bill Johnson, Republican of Ohio, said on Thursday, pledging a separate House hearing on the environmental response, along with a field hearing in the region.

    President Biden, speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday after meeting with Senate Democrats, said that he “would be out there at some point” when asked if he would visit Ohio. He also confirmed that he would support legislation championed by the state’s two senators — Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a Republican — and other lawmakers that would toughen railway safety regulations.

    Both residents and rail workers have focused their concerns on the possibility of harmful exposure to the train’s cargo and any other chemicals that seeped into the community’s environment. In the days after the derailment, residents complained about migraines, rashes and a persisting chemical odor, even as preliminary data from government officials did not show significant levels of vinyl chloride or other dangerous chemicals.

    On Wednesday, Jonathon Long, the chairman of the union branch that represents Norfolk Southern employees, including those helping clean up the site of the derailment, wrote to Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio condemning the railroad company and its treatment of its workers. He said he had been told that some of the workers were not given appropriate protective gear to wear, despite the threat of possible exposure, and that others had continued to complain about migraines and nausea days after the derailment.

    As of Thursday, about 2.1 million gallons of wastewater and 1,400 tons of solid waste have been hauled away from the site of the derailment, according to data provided by Mr. DeWine’s office. Out of tests done on 151 private well systems, 57 samples have been verified and do not show worrisome contaminant levels, matching similar results from the municipal water systems.

  25. #100
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    20 cars of Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio; no hazardous materials on board, officials say

    bout 20 cars of a Norfolk Southern cargo train derailed near Springfield on Saturday evening, the second derailment of the company’s trains in Ohio in a month, officials said.

    But unlike the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a company spokesperson told NBC News there were no hazardous materials on board.

    The Clark County Emergency Management Agency said earlier in the night that officials were working to confirm the company's report about the materials. Late Saturday, in a tweet shared by the agency, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said: "We don’t believe hazardous materials were involved."

    No injuries were reported when approximately 20 cars of the 212-car train derailed while traveling south, near Springfield, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson said. Springfield is about 46 miles west of the state capital of Columbus, Ohio.

    "Our teams are en route to the site to begin cleanup operations," the company said.

    The derailment, near the Clark County Fairgrounds, left more than 1,500 without power, and the agency asked residents within 1,000 feet of the site to shelter in place, but it said it has not issued formal evacuation orders.

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