EPA Announces New ‘Work Plan’ for East Palestine 7 Months Later
Minutes after workers burned five tankers of vinyl chloride after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, a toxic plume of smoke smothered the area for miles. Residents scrambled to get away, worried for their health and safety. Now, seven months later, the Environment Protection Agency announced a new “work plan” — which, for the first time since the derailment, broadens the scope of possible contamination.
Ohio Activists Join National Groups to Deliver Petition to EPA to Ban Vinyl Chloride
Environmental and community groups are calling on the US EPA agency to ban vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make PVC pipes and many other consumer products. It’s also the chemical vented from five derailed train cars in East Palestine, Ohio earlier this year and burned, resulting in an explosion. The groups submitted 27,570 signatures to the agency this week.
Ohio residents rally in DC for Vinyl Chloride ban, Emergency Aid
East Palestine residents were in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, hoping to reach lawmakers and influence a ban on vinyl chloride nearly six months after a devastating Norfolk Southern train derailment released the toxic chemical into their community.
President Biden, Come to East Palestine and Bring FEMA With You
The Ohio train derailment is not a comeback story, it's a grim warning. It's about an industry that values profit over people and the environment, and about a regulatory system that has failed to keep these industries in check. There is an undeniable connection between this disaster and the plastics industry. The production of PVC plastic depends on transporting harmful chemicals like vinyl chloride. The insatiable demand for plastics has driven the need for increased transport of these hazardous substances, placing communities near rail tracks under constant threat. As company profits soar, our communities are left to grapple with the aftermath of their negligence.
‘The Poison Plastic’: Why Calls Are Growing for a Ban on PVC
A toxic train derailment in Ohio has forced an uncomfortable conversation in the US. The pollution and response to the accident was bad enough for local residents, but black and lower-income communities face the effects of America’s dirty plastic industry on a daily basis.
East Palestine Families Living in Limbo Months After Fire
Almost 3 months after a fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment blackened the skies, sent residents fleeing and thrust East Palestine into a national debate over rail safety, residents say they are still living in limbo. They’re unsure how or whether to move on from the accident and worry what will happen to them and the village where they have deep family roots, friendships and affordable homes.
The Growing Oil and Gas Industry Means More Incidents Like East Palestine.
There’s a common thread linking many of the high-profile chemical spills that have made headlines across the country lately: the oil and gas industry. Philadelphia residents were on high alert after the Trinseo latex plant 20 miles from the city released at least 8,100 gallons of acrylic polymers into a tributary for the Delaware River on March 24. Those acrylic polymers were made up of compounds known as butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and methyl methacrylate; all are produced from fossil fuels.
Water Scare Latest Attack on Pa. By Plastics | Will Bunch Newsletter
“This has been a very bad month for people in Pennsylvania who want to drink clean water and breathe clean air,” Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama years who now teaches at Bennington College and heads a group called Beyond Plastics, told me on Monday.
Former EPA Official Calls Agency’s Response in East Palestine Too Weak
After the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, officials decided to burn 100,000 gallons of highly toxic vinyl chloride, rather than risk a catastrophic explosion. While the company has absorbed much of the blame for what happened in East Palestine, many have criticized the response from government. That includes Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration, and head of the environmental group .
Plant Explosion Leaves Town With Fear of Lead Exposure and Few Answers
Nearly a month after a metal-manufacturing plant exploded in the Cleveland suburb of Oakwood Village, Ohio, community health advocates say they still don’t have clear answers to the urgent question of whether the blast released harmful levels of lead into the area. They’re also questioning why those living and working near the blast weren’t quickly informed that lead in the facility could pose a risk.
‘Wakeup Call’: Braintree Chemical Fire, Ohio Derailment Show Need for Stronger Emergency Planning, Experts Say
Government officials don’t pay enough attention to preventing accidents due to a lack of funding devoted to such efforts, said Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator now president of environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics. And communication around evacuation plans is an issue across the nation, she said. Almost 124 million people, or 39 percent of the US population, live within 3 miles of a hazardous facility, according to the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters.
How to ‘Make Some Good’ Out of East Palestine, Ohio, Rail Disaster? Ban Vinyl Chloride, Former EPA Official Says
Outrage over last month’s Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, continued this week as former regional Environmental Protection Agency administrator Judith Enck called on the agency to ban vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical at the center of the disaster.
EPA Drops the Ball in East Palestine
The people of East Palestine, Ohio were left in the dark about toxic chemical risks in the wake of the fiery train derailment, says Judith Enck, a former regional administrator of the EPA. Her commentary calls out the EPA’s delayed and weak response and urges the agency to take steps to regain the public’s trust.
East Palestine Toxic Train Crash Shows Plastics Industry Toll on Planet. Will U.S. Ban Vinyl Chloride?
Five weeks after the Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment and so-called controlled burn that blanketed the town with a toxic brew of at least six hazardous chemicals and gases, senators grilled the CEO of Norfolk Southern over the company’s toxic train derailment. The company has evaded calls to cover healthcare costs as residents continue to report headaches, coughing, fatigue, irritation and burning of the skin.
Former EPA Regional Administrator Critical of Response to East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment
Allegations of missteps and mistakes in the federal EPA’s response to the East Palestine toxic train derailment are coming from someone who’s been in the agency’s top ranks. The criticism comes as mistrust and anger linger in and around the village. More than a month after a dark chemical plume billowed over East Palestine, there are signs of resilience. But there are also high demands for baseline medical tests and water many people want to trust to drink.
Why Is the E.P.A. So Timid in the East Palestine Train Disaster?
When a Norfolk Southern train carrying nearly 116,000 gallons of vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last month, local officials made a pivotal decision: to drain the highly toxic chemical into a ditch and set it on fire in a “controlled burn” to avoid a catastrophic explosion. Officials didn’t mention that the plume could rain dioxins and other enduring poisons down on the community and others downwind. And two days after the burn, residents in the one-by-two-mile evacuation zone were allowed back into their homes — before any testing for dioxins and other contaminants on the surfaces inside had been done.
Did Dioxins Spread After the Ohio Train Derailment?
After a catastrophic 38-train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment.
The East Palestine Disaster Was a Direct Result of the Country’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels and Plastic
The hazardous chemicals being transported by the derailed train — including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen — are used to make PVC, the world’s third most used type of plastic.
Former EPA Official Breaks Down Ohio Train Derailment
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration, joined Errol Louis on "Inside City Hall" Thursday to discuss how she thinks officials should respond to the situation in East Palestine, Ohio, where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed earlier this month, threatening the safety of residents.
One Planet: The Norfolk Southern Ohio Train Derailment Reveals the Dangers of Plastic Production
On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss the environmental and health impacts of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and our growing reliance on plastics. Derailed train cars were carrying several petrochemicals, including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.