Sorry about suffocating your entire community under a toxic, burning mushroom cloud. Here's $5. We good?

[NT1440]

Seeing as 3 consecutive administrations have been bought off to not implement even the basic safety rules proposed, I don’t think sneering at who these residents may or may not have voted for really does any good.

This is a humanitarian disaster in the USA in 2023, it doesn’t matter who voted for who, these people need help.

 

[Herdfan]

WV American Water in Huntington, WV just ran 3,000' of above ground water line to the Guyandotte River to make sure they had a clean water supply.

WVAWC installs temporary intake on Guyandotte River - WV MetroNews

Company officials say the line is precautionary in case of contaminants from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment in recent days.

wvmetronews.com

And Ironton, OH is monitoring the water in the Ohio for their system.

This is probably going to be the case for most water systems at least to Cincinnati or Louisville, maybe even farther down.

If you have a minute, read just how a chemical spill can affect water systems. And this does not really paint an accurate picture. I had people coming to the house for 2 weeks to use a shower. After a couple of days, I put a deadbolt on the door to the house and just left the bathroom door to outside unlocked so people could come and go as they wished. My daughter didn't go to school for 2+ weeks. It was a mess.

2014 Elk River chemical spill - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[NT1440]

This is basically Love canal in 2023.

Probably will result in the same style of decades-long coverup of the real damage of this disaster for decades as well…

Vinyl Chloride results in a very rare form of cancers. I expect that rate to be astronomically high in this area for “unknown reasons” for decades to come in the area.

 

[KingOfPain]

Also covered by Seth Meyers now:

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Seeing as 3 consecutive administrations have been bought off to not implement even the basic safety rules proposed, I don’t think sneering at who these residents may or may not have voted for really does any good.

This is a humanitarian disaster in the USA in 2023, it doesn’t matter who voted for who, these people need help.

I’m not denying these people need help regardless of who they vote for and both parties are complicit in most of our messes, but I’ll just say one side of the political spectrum gets pissed off when they need to get a permit and inspection to build a deck in their backyard and they believe that’s really what they are fighting when the actual results of winning that fight are train derailments, toxic drinking water, and their retirement disappearing with no recourse. Or what some would call FREEDOM! Their donations aren’t going to the deck building deregulation lobby.

 

[Renzatic]

This is a humanitarian disaster in the USA in 2023, it doesn’t matter who voted for who, these people need help.

But we all know this isn't how it's going to play out.

 

[fooferdoggie]

The railroad rann off from the town hall because they felt threatened. so nice when you can run away

 

[Yoused]

I’m not denying these people need help regardless of who they vote for and both parties are complicit in most of our messes, but I’ll just say one side of the political spectrum gets pissed off when they need to get a permit and inspection to build a deck in their backyard and they believe that’s really what they are fighting when the actual results of winning that fight are train derailments, toxic drinking water, and their retirement disappearing with no recourse. Or what some would call FREEDOM! Their donations aren’t going to the deck building deregulation lobby.

There is a term that the glibertarians like to fling about, "moral hazard", which essentially means the consequences to your actions fail to materialize because the rest of us are decent people. The local region politically supported the ideology that placed them in harm's way, and yet our desire to not see innocent people suffer means we will help them and the cost of their support for venal republiopaths gets obfuscated away.

Now, there were people in the area who did not vote for "freedumb", so they mostly should not have to bear the cost of their idiot neighbors' folly. But, more importantly, as you note, the greater fault lies not so much with the fools that supported the side that led to their lives being made worse but more with the charlatans who convinced those people to guide their lances toward windmills. Sadly, the real villains in this saga are deeply protected under the warm afghan of 1A.

 

[NT1440]

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits

The company whose train derailed in Ohio is asking the Supreme Court to kill a suit by a sick rail worker — and help the firm block future lawsuits

www.levernews.com

Wonderful stuff.

 

[Yoused]

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits

The company whose train derailed in Ohio is asking the Supreme Court to kill a suit by a sick rail worker — and help the firm block future lawsuits

www.levernews.com

Wonderful stuff.

Corporate lobbying groups … have warned that a ruling in favor of the former railroad worker could allow people to sue corporations in whatever venue they’d like — a practice known as “forum shopping.” … the railroad lobbying group of which Norfolk Southern is a member, used this argument to claim that the railroad industry would be particularly victimized by a ruling in favor of the sickened worker.
…
But groups weighing in on Mallory’s side pointed out that “forum shopping” is the norm for corporations. For example, many corporations choose to register in Delaware for tax purposes even if they have no physical presence in the state. … On its website, Norfolk Southern informs users that they must submit to the jurisdiction of the city courts of Norfolk, Virginia, where the company’s headquarters are located.

“The idea that it’s somehow fundamentally unfair to pose the burden of defending a lawsuit in a particular jurisdiction on a corporation — as applied to these multi-state and multinational corporations — is a fiction,” said Nelson of Public Citizen.​

The rules are for us, not for you.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

There is a term that the glibertarians like to fling about, "moral hazard", which essentially means the consequences to your actions fail to materialize because the rest of us are decent people. The local region politically supported the ideology that placed them in harm's way, and yet our desire to not see innocent people suffer means we will help them and the cost of their support for venal republiopaths gets obfuscated away.

Now, there were people in the area who did not vote for "freedumb", so they mostly should not have to bear the cost of their idiot neighbors' folly. But, more importantly, as you note, the greater fault lies not so much with the fools that supported the side that led to their lives being made worse but more with the charlatans who convinced those people to guide their lances toward windmills. Sadly, the real villains in this saga are deeply protected under the warm afghan of 1A.

I know it’s probably bad form to turn this situation political, but when there is a mass shooting (incoming in 3, 2, 1….) does anybody doubt that there is one side of the political spectrum that is more responsible for the likelihood of that happening more than the other side? The only difference is the people on that same side aren’t now saying (yet) the only solution to carcinogenic drinking water is more carcinogenic drinking water.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits

The company whose train derailed in Ohio is asking the Supreme Court to kill a suit by a sick rail worker — and help the firm block future lawsuits

www.levernews.com

Wonderful stuff.

I don’t know if “big fan” of The Lever is the appropriate term here because it’s some of the most depressing deep dive on corruption you’ll ever read. If you ever wonder if you have a limit that will just make you give up and go live off the grid as far as possible read The Lever.

 

[Clix Pix]

Article in today's The Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/02/16/ohio-train-derailment-response-toxic-contamination/

The residents of East Palestine deserve emotional support, genuine help and financial assistance in moving out of there and away from there, but will they get it? What about the people in neighboring communities? Pretty likely that they, too, are going to feel some of the impact of this disaster, even if they don't think they have....

 

[Yoused]

… a limit that will just make you give up and go live off the grid …

Off the grid is still downwind from somewhere.

 

[Herdfan]

I know many of you aren't a fan of OH Senator JD Vance, but he went Erin Brockovitch on the EPA guy.

 

[Yoused]

Well, that is hilarious. Vance is a vulture capitalist deregulate everything Individual-ONE-supporting Republiopath. He is in favor of the EPA when something bad happens but it should not exist the rest of the time. He can take his "Erin Brockovich" BS and _____ __ __ ___ ___ ____.

 

[AG_PhamD]

A very depressing situation all around. Concerns over rail safety go back decades and at least the past 3-4 administrations have failed to properly address this issue.

And I would argue up until recently, this accident has received little media attention. In the first 10 days following the accident, CNN gave something like 36 minutes of coverage. And from what I saw, much of it was not particularly critical.

And then for Mayor Pete to take 10 days to comment on the situation and by comment I mean talk about diversity, this can only be interpreted as being completely out of touch and unfit for the job or an attempt to rile up the right over culture war issues in order to distract from the actual problem at hand. And the rail company is avoiding any public discourse.

But it’s also astonishing how much power the government gives to the rail road company to deal with cleaning up the disaster. It seems to me like the EPA should be managing the cleanup and sending the bill to the railroad, meanwhile providing clear, objective information to the public. Instead we have a complete and utter mess.

And how can you expect the public to trust what they are being told. Everything is “safe” except they can’t actually know that having not tested all the local water sources. Meanwhile you have fish and livestock dying. Hmmm.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

A very depressing situation all around. Concerns over rail safety go back decades and at least the past 3-4 administrations have failed to properly address this issue.

And I would argue up until recently, this accident has received little media attention. In the first 10 days following the accident, CNN gave something like 36 minutes of coverage. And from what I saw, much of it was not particularly critical.

And then for Mayor Pete to take 10 days to comment on the situation and by comment I mean talk about diversity, this can only be interpreted as being completely out of touch and unfit for the job or an attempt to rile up the right over culture war issues in order to distract from the actual problem at hand. And the rail company is avoiding any public discourse.

But it’s also astonishing how much power the government gives to the rail road company to deal with cleaning up the disaster. It seems to me like the EPA should be managing the cleanup and sending the bill to the railroad, meanwhile providing clear, objective information to the public. Instead we have a complete and utter mess.

And how can you expect the public to trust what they are being told. Everything is “safe” except they can’t actually know that having not tested all the local water sources. Meanwhile you have fish and livestock dying. Hmmm.

It feels like a plotline out of Succession where the first week of training consists of going over all the coverups your predecessors oversaw and how to defend those at the top. So when a crisis happens that’s your first reflexive priority, not handling the situation in front of your face with the appropriate outrage and action.

 

[mac_in_tosh]

And now Norfolk Southern, the railroad company that was responsible for emitting the toxic vinyl chloride, has offered a $25,000 donation to assist the area’s population of nearly 5,000 people - which works out at only $5 a person.

A press release from the railroad company read: “We have established a Family Assistance Center to address the needs of the community and support those directly impacted. Additionally, we are supporting the efforts of the American Red Cross and their temporary community shelters through a $25,000 donation.”

From last year:
(RTTNews) - Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) Tuesday announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new program for the repurchase of up to $10 billion of its common stock beginning April 1, 2022.

 

[fooferdoggie]

From last year:
(RTTNews) - Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) Tuesday announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new program for the repurchase of up to $10 billion of its common stock beginning April 1, 2022.

there you go priorities.