Ohio’s “Poisoned Train” Causes Environmental DisasterFly into the homes of ordinary people
Nearly 20 days after the derailment of a train in Ohio in the United States caused the spread of toxic gas, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency and other officials visited the city of East Palestine, where the accident occurred, and held meetings with local residents and community members, promising water quality safety. In the meantime, although Reagan performed “drinking water” in front of the camera several times, this “drinking” method of “tasting and stopping” was unconvincing.
On the 21st, US Environmental Protection Agency Director Michael Reagan, the governor of Ohio and other US officials visited East Palestine. Reagan assured the residents that the water quality test results have always been safe, and he drank it with other people. tap water.
Source: CCTV (the same below)
Ohio Governor DeWine:Today (21st) we visited two families, and one of the things we did was to drink water, the water here. The water is safe, how do we know it’s been tested.
In response to the move, local resident Melissa Smith said it did not make her feel easy.
East Palestine City resident Melissa Smith:To be honest, I still feel a bit worried because the drinking water in the city center may be safe, but there are many other areas or places that use well water, so far have not been tested, and have not received any news of testing, So we can only test ourselves. And I’m mainly worried about what will happen after a period of time, and many times the adverse effects (of these pollutions) will not appear immediately.
Some netizens found that the officials seemed to be drinking very reluctantly, at best they could only sip from the cup. After the video was broadcast, it attracted ridicule from many netizens.
Some netizens said: “Sipping a sip is not the same as taking a bath, washing clothes, and breathing air every day. Sorry, I don’t see how brave it is or how it can give people a sense of security. They should move their home to live for a year or two moon.”
“Start drinking it every day now, like a local in Ohio.”
Previously, Reagan, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, appeared in East Palestine for the first time 13 days after the incident, assuring local residents that the water quality was safe, but he refused to drink the tap water provided by the local area.
East Palestine, Ohio mayor rebukes Biden for ignoring domestic crisis
Toxic chemicals entered the air, water and soil, the smoke irritated the eyes, dead fish floated to the surface, and the main river was full of stains… Residents of East Palestine were still worried about how to live in the future, but US President Biden made a surprise visit to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and announced The United States will provide Ukraine with a new $500 million military support package.
In an interview with “Fox News”, the mayor of East Palestine, Conaway, rebuked Biden for “ignoring the domestic crisis.”
East Palestine Mayor Konawi:It gave us a big slap in the face and told us that he (Biden) didn’t care about us at all, that he went to Ukraine and gave people there so much money and didn’t pay us, I was so angry.
People feel unwell and worry about increased health risks
The train derailed, causing hazardous material to leak, which caused panic among local residents. Some residents are already feeling unwell, while others worry that the toxic chemicals may cause long-term harm to their health.
After the train derailment, local authorities claimed to have decontaminated and purified the polluted river or stream. A local resident said in an interview with the media on the 21st that there are still traces of pollution in the river in front of her house, and these remedial measures are obviously of no use.
Local resident Jamie:They claim to have purified the river upstream, but it is clear that the purification measures are of no use. If you throw a stone into the river downstream, you can still see traces of the river being polluted. The stone looks like it is “boiling” in the polluted river water.
A number of local residents said in an interview with the media on the 21st that their bodies had already developed many adverse symptoms.
Local resident Nathan:I was coughing up blood a few days after the derailment, and I woke up with a really bad cough, kind of like the cough you get after bronchitis or pneumonia. I don’t know if I had a coughing attack, but I coughed up blood that night.
Local resident Kelly:The headaches are horrible, especially when I’m 3 or 4 miles away from here, the headaches get worse, as soon as I’m a few miles away from where it happened, the headaches start and they’re really bad headaches, migraines.
Another resident said that the accident has had a bad impact on the local ecological environment, and she is also worried that her family will suffer from cancer because of the toxic chemical leakage.
Local resident Imberg:There are also numerous reports of domesticated pets being euthanized due to breathing problems, many wild animals being found dead, and certainly seeing rising rates of cancer or lung disease in the distant future. I worry about whether my son will end up with cancer or asthma, or if it rains acid one day without an umbrella.
Imberg also pointed out that whenever similar accidents happen, the two parties in the United States will always shirk responsibility from each other, and no one wants to solve the problem.
Local resident Imberg:Whenever something terrible like this happens in America, instead of trying to find a real solution, the government a lot of times just tries to pass the buck.
Editor: Yoon Sang Seung Nam
