Unless you're in Ohio.
Drew Sheneman | The Star-Ledger
With the media frenzy over UFOs you’d be forgiven for not knowing a major environmental disaster has been raging in Northeastern Ohio for the past two weeks. A train carrying toxic chemicals through East Palestine, Ohio derailed, burned and sent untold tons of carcinogens into the air and water supply. Seems like a pretty big deal to me, but I like when my tap water isn’t a biohazard.
In an industry that values profit over safety while trafficking some of the deadliest substances on Earth, an accident like this seems like an inevitability. Rail workers tried to warn us. Safety requirements were rolled back under Trump and when they threatened to go on strike this past December, partly because of those safety standards, Biden and Congress made it illegal. Merry Christmas.
Don’t miss an issue of our Opinion newsletter! Get it delivered each Wednesday right into your inbox by adding your email below and hitting"subscribe."Rail worker unions have complained for years that they are overworked and understaffed. That they can’t possibly maintain the amount of track they need to with the people they have. Safety is once again sacrificed on the profit altar and now giant chunks of Northern Ohio have a toxic cancer cloud circling their heads.
The script is predictable: moneyed interests lobby for lower safety standards with lower costs, profits explode, trains explode, fingers point, class-action suits are filed and a settlement for a fraction of the aforementioned profits are paid. Lather, rinse, repeat. Business as usual unless you need to live, breathe or drink in Northern Ohio.
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