Our Road: Now -- E16 East Palestine, Ohio Chemical Disaster: A Wake-Up Call

In this episode, we’re pausing our historical narrative of the Warren County PCB history to focus on the horrific February 3, 2023 Norfolk Southern Railroad train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.  Eleven train cars spilled 115,580 gallons of toxic vinyl chloride and other chemicals, including benzene, on the ground, and the chemicals were then deliberately burned off in order to avoid an explosion.

Described as an epic disaster, the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment is a wake-up call to Americans concerning the inherent dangers of our chemical age as were Love Canal, New York and Warren County, North Carolina.

The East Palestine train derailment exposes the lack of regulations needed to govern the safe transportation of deadly chemicals. It exposes how antiquated single-car brakes and defective heat sensors caused the train to derail, and how railroad authorities have purposely avoided investing in safety measures that could have prevented the disaster. It exposes the lack of liability for chemical producers, haulers, and disposers, and why people can't necessarily believe the EPA and other government agencies are actually protecting their environment and public health.

In this episode, we share a statement from former EPA Chief of the Hazardous Waste Implementation Branch and whistleblower William Sanjour that is relevant to the East Palestine disaster and why pollution continues to be pervasive and ongoing. 

In his 1982 testimony to congressional committee members, Sanjour described in documented details how unsafe hazardous waste disposal practices are based on EPA “regulations which, instead of preventing disaster, knowingly allow it, by promising to provide disaster relief.” 

He pointedly illustrated this dark practice of focusing on effects rather than causes by asking, “Can we expect EPA to carry this line of thinking into other areas by issuing gas masks as a means of regulating air pollution?”