President Biden to visit East Palestine a year after disastrous train derailment

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WILL MAKE A CONTROVERSIAL VISIT to EAST PALESTINE, OHIO — ONE YEAR AFTER A DISASTROUS TRAIN DERAILMENT SPILLED TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THE AREA.

YOU’LL REMEMBER IN FEBRUARY 2023 A NORFOLK SOUTHERN TRAIN DERAILED – SPILLING CHEMICALS AND SPARKING A FIRE THAT LASTED FOR DAYS. THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS HAD TO BE EVACUATED AND MANY ARE STILL WORRIED ABOUT LASTING IMPACTS. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS BEEN WIDELY CRITICIZED FOR NOT VISITING AFTER THE CRASH. AT THE TIME, HE SAID HE’D VISIT “AT SOME POINT.” THE WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMED WEDNESDAY, THAT POINT IS ONE YEAR AFTER THE FACT. 

IN THE PAST YEAR, BIDEN HAS RESPONDED TO FLOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS ON CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL COAST AND POST-WILDFIRES IN HAWAII – DRAWING MORE ATTENTION TO HIS ABSENCE IN OHIO.

IN AN INTERVIEW WITH FOX NEWS AHEAD OF BIDEN’S VISIT — EAST PALESTINE MAYOR TRENT CONAWAY QUESTIONED THE PRESIDENT’S TIMING.

TRENT CONAWAY MAYOR, EAST PALESTINE, OH (R) 

“…my personal opinion, the best time for him to come would be February of 2025 when he is on his book tour. The President is always welcome to our town. That being said, I don’t know what he would do here now.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

THE ADMINISTRATION MAINTAINS THAT WHILE THE PRESIDENT HAS YET TO VISIT, THEIR RESPONSE TO THE DERAILMENT WAS TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE. 

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY 

“From the moment—the day of the derailment that we saw in East Palestine and what the community had to deal with, within hours—within hours, we’ve had federal assistance, federal employees on the ground—within hours. And that was because of this President—right?—because he understood what that community would be going through. So, he was—we were proactive. And we got folks there within hours. We’re talking about EPA, Department of Transportation, talking about FEMA, HHS, CDC. And we’ve been on the ground—folks have been on the ground since—that day—since that day.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

WHILE THIS DISASTER MAY BE ONE OF 20-23’S WORST DERAILMENTS — IT’S DEFINITELY NOT THE ONLY. 

THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION RELEASED A SAFETY REPORT SHOWING 11-HUNDRED-36 DOCUMENTED DERAILMENTS IN 20-23. THIS IS FAR BELOW AVERAGE, BUT STILL HIGHLIGHTS HOW DANGEROUS RAILWAYS CONTINUE TO BE. 

MEANWHILE, PEOPLE ARE STILL WORRIED ABOUT POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS FROM THE TOXIC CHEMICALS SPILLED AND THE VINYL CHLORIDE burned off SHORTLY AFTER THE CRASH. VINYL CHLORIDE, A CARCINOGEN LINKED TO THE LIVER, BRAIN, LUNG, AND BREAST, IS HAZARDOUS IF INHALED, ACCORDING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.

IT’S BEEN A YEAR, BUT CLEANUP TEAMS ARE *STILL REMOVING HAZARDOUS WASTE FROM THE SITE. THE E-P-A HAS CLEARED ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF THE AREA SO FAR. SOME OF THE CONTAMINATED WATER STILL HAS AN OILY SHEEN TO IT. THE E-P-A SAYS THEY DIDN’T DETECT ANY AIR CONTAMINANTS DURING ITS CLEANOUTS.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN ESTIMATES IT’S GOING TO COST ROUGHLY 800-MILLION DOLLARS TO PAY OUT LAWSUITS, HELP THE COMMUNITY, AND REMOVE HAZARDOUS WASTE.