The derailment of the freight train in the city of east palestine -in the northeastern United States- caused a widespread fire and the air release of toxic fumes, including vinyl chloridea colorless gas used as a chemical weapon in World War I and considered a carcinogen by the US National Cancer Institute.
Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine, He told CNN that while the air quality in East Palestine was “safe,” residents had better not drink the water yet as a precaution.
“Yesterday afternoon we received a test of the water in the town and in the first well we tested the water was fine,” he said. However, he urged people to “use bottled water.” “Don’t risk it,” he said.
More results were expected in the run on Wednesday.
Erin’s Claim brockovich to Biden
At the same time, the American environmental activist Erin Brockovich He urged President Joe Biden to “intensify” his government’s efforts on an issue of environmental pollution.
Brockovich, made famous by the film of the same name starring Julia Roberts, lashed out at Biden, urging him to “step up” efforts after the train derailment.
The spill is causing a small environmental crisis, which would already have caused diseases among the local population, as well as the death of farm animals and at least 3,500 fish.
The president should be “more involved” in managing the Ohio disaster, Brockovich argued, referring to the February 3 accident.
“Doing better than his predecessor is not doing enough,” Brockovich tweeted. “The Biden administration needs to get more involved in this train wreck now.” “We are counting on you to break the chain of sleeping administrations. ONE STEP NOW,” concluded the 62-year-old environmental activist.
What happened in East Palestine
The train Norfolk Southern, with approximately 150 cars, it crashed while transporting cargo from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, on February 3.
This accident resulted in the derailment of 38 carriages, after which “a fire broke out, damaging 12 others,” the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement on Tuesday.
Of the sections that derailed, 11 transported hazardous materialsincluding vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and other chemicalsthe NTSB said.
To prevent an explosion, local officials carried out a controlled burning of the cargo on February 6, which released toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
A couple of thousand people residing in the area had to be evacuated and stayed away from home for several days due to the danger of gas leaks.
Source: Ambito
