Better late than never!
President Joe Biden on Friday directed federal authorities to go door-to-door in eastern Palestine, Ohio, beginning Saturday to check on families affected by the toxic train derailment.
Under Biden’s order, teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Agency for Emergency Management will visit homes.
Workers will ask how residents are doing, see what they need and connect them with appropriate resources from governments and nonprofits, the White House said.
The “walk teams” are modeled after similar teams after hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Biden instructed employees to reach as many homes as possible by Monday. Officials said the immediate goal is for at least 400 to visit. The president said he has no plans to visit Ohio in person at this time.
President Joe Biden was left speechless as he explained to reporters why he has yet to visit East Palestine, Ohio, three weeks after the toxic train derailed
The Biden administration has been accused of being indifferent to the plight of the small Ohio community, where residents are reporting worrying symptoms
Biden on Friday dismissed the notion that his administration was not present in providing support in a bizarre exchange as he left the White House to spend the weekend at his Delaware home.
“We were there two hours after the train left. Two hours,” Biden said at the White House. “I spoke to all the important figures in Pennsylvania and Ohio. And so the idea that we’re not engaged just isn’t there.
But Democrats – including the clumsy Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg – were accused of initially downplaying the disaster. They were embarrassed to take it more seriously after former President Donald Trump visited the site earlier this week.
An East Palestinian resident awaits the arrival of former US President Donald Trump during his visit to the site of a train and chemical spill in East Palestine
A resident displays a mannequin on his porch in East Palestine, Ohio, as clean-up efforts continue following the February 3 train derailment in Norfolk Southern
During Friday’s interaction, Biden struggled to recall the word Zoom telling reporters, “I took a whole video, I mean, um, what the heck, on,” Biden rambled as he searched for reporters, to fill the gap. ‘Zoom?’ said one of the reporters, trying to help the President.
‘Zoom! All I can think of every time I think of Zoom is my generation’s song, Who’s Zoomin’ Who,” he said, referring to the Aretha Franklin song.
A timeline released by the White House on Friday says the DOT issued an “initial notification of incidents” to members of the Ohio congressional delegation and relevant committees on Saturday, Feb. 4, less than a day after the derailment.
On the same day, the EPA deployed real-time aerial surveillance tools at 12 locations around the wreck site and in the neighboring community, the White House said.
Residents in eastern Palestine have reported going to hospital after the burial with rashes
Pictured: The site of the chemical spill as crews work to suppress the pollutants on Friday
Pictured: Chemical fire releases toxins into the air in eastern Palestine
The chemical spill has left many residents too afraid to shower while clean-up crews work to collect the wrecked train cars and their cargo
Defending his administration’s work, Biden said his team has been in Palestine since day one, but added that he had never been invited to come and still has no plans to go
Meanwhile, the controversy spread far beyond the small Ohio town. Officials in Texas and Michigan have expressed concern about contaminated sewage and soil being shipped to their states for disposal.
Biden’s order came as House Republicans opened an investigation into the Feb. 3 derailment, blaming Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for a delayed response to the burning wreckage.
The focus on DOT came even though the EPA this week echoed the federal response, ordering the Norfolk Southern Railway to pay for chemical cleaning and release.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, was the latest lawmaker to throw himself into a political proxy war as each party sided with the other after the derailment and chemical leak that led to the evacuation of the small Ohio community .
“Despite the responsibility of the US Department of Transportation to ensure safe and reliable transportation in the United States, you have ignored the disaster for over a week,” the Kentucky Republican said in a letter to Buttigieg.
“The American people deserve answers as to what caused the derailment, and DOT must provide an explanation for its leadership’s apathy in the face of this emergency,” the letter continued.
Trump boasted earlier this week that he visited the Ohio city before Biden or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg when he delivered water and food
Buttigieg (centre) arrived the day after Trump, three weeks into the ongoing crisis. He told reporters that he was considering his decision to wait so long
Meanwhile, Buttigieg has hit back at ex-President Donald Trump, who visited the site this week.
Buttigieg told reporters that if the former president — and current Republican presidential nominee — pushed hard for increased rail safety efforts, “among other things, he might be expressing his support for reversing the deregulation that took place under his oversight.”
On Friday, Buttigieg chided Comer for referring to the DOT’s National Transportation Safety Board in his letter, saying he was “disturbed to learn” that the board chair believes the NTSB is part of our department.
NTSB is independent (and for good reason). Nevertheless, we will of course examine this fully and react appropriately.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized “political stunts that we see from the other side”.
A preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board says the crew of the Norfolk Southern freight train didn’t get much warning before dozens of cars went off the tracks, and there’s no indication the crew members did anything wrong.
Republicans portray the incident as a moral failure by the Biden administration, noting Buttigieg did not visit the site until almost three weeks after the wreck.
Democrats point to rollbacks made by former President Donald Trump during his tenure that have weakened rail and environmental regulations. EPO Administrator Michael Regan visited the site last week and again on Tuesday.
The dangerous chemicals released in the East Palestine train derailment
A train carrying a variety of toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3.
Some of these chemicals have since been released into the air or soil due to local residents’ concerns about the long-term health effects.
Chemicals released in the derailment include:
Vinyl chloride – rail operator Norfolk Southern said 10 cars burned vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. It’s a highly volatile colorless gas used to make polyvinyl chloride, a plastic used in plumbing, cables, bottles, and credit cards.
Symptoms of exposure to vinyl chloride include drowsiness, headache, and dizziness. Longer term effects can include cancer and liver damage.
Hydrogen Chloride – In an attempt to mitigate the effects of vinyl chloride, officials conducted a controlled explosion of the train cars, releasing hydrogen chloride.
The chemical is irritating and corrosive to any tissue it comes in contact with, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn.
Brief exposure can cause throat irritation, but exposure to higher levels can cause rapid breathing, constriction of the bronchioles, blue discoloration of the skin, fluid buildup in the lungs, and even death.
Phosgene – a chemical that was also released in the controlled explosion.
Like hydrogen chloride, phosgene irritates the skin, eyes and respiratory tract.
Common initial symptoms are mild irritation of the eyes and throat with some coughing, choking, nausea, occasional vomiting, headache and chest tightness.
Phosgene poisoning can also cause respiratory and cardiovascular failure, low blood pressure, and fluid buildup in the lungs.
Ethylhexyl acrylate – a chemical carried on the train
It is a known carcinogen that can cause burning and irritation to the skin and eyes. Inhaling the substance can also irritate the nose and throat, causing shortness of breath and coughing.
Isobutylene was also transported on the train.
Inhaling isobutylene can cause dizziness and drowsiness
Ethylene glycol monobutyl was another substance shipped to Pennsylvania.
It can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, and throat, as well as hematuria (or blood in the urine), nervous system depression, headache, and vomiting.