Over the past month, climate disasters have been wrecking the United States, the most prominent being the train derailment and subsequent explosion in East Palestine, Ohio. The U.S. seemingly has been covering many of these disasters up. Norfolk has been dodgy, journalists arrested, and many have decidedly fumbled big decisions to allow a seamless flow of communication between the suits at Norfolk and the people of East Palestine, Ohio. Moreover, many believe a more significant issue is afoot, while the government downplays it. Environmental disasters are nothing new in the modern world, but many have happened in the United States in under two weeks. Some of these disasters are a plastics factory explosion in Florida, a tanker truck flipping in Arizona, and the explosion in East Palestine, Ohio. This article will discuss some of these disasters in-depth and try to connect the pieces.
A plastics factory exploded and sent out a harmful amount of plastic toxins and residues into the air, causing the air around the factory to become harder to breathe for many residents. Crews told these residents to stay inside while crews worked to purify the air from carbon monoxide and other hazardous gases. The fire started around two in the morning, with firefighters responding within the hour. The firefighters worked diligently to put out the fire, finally being put out around seven in the morning. Teams of Hazmat-wearing officials came in to check air quality and deemed the area “safe to stay in, but individuals with breathing problems stay indoors and wait.” The disaster was “most likely caused by a propane tank exploding within the facility.” a spokesperson for the Osceola County Fire Rescue Team said. The team is still working on a definitive answer to how the fire started. Disney World is located about ten miles from the factory, parkgoers reported seeing smoke in the air, but teams assured them everything was fine. The smoke brought up concerns about air quality, and the team working on monitoring the air has said quality is fine. Disney World is safe to visit, to the joy of many. The plastics explosion is not the only explosion in the past week; the other is an upturned truck in Arizona leaking Nitric Acid.
Florida Plastics Warehouse Burning
To boot, the cross-country driver was driving along I-10 outside downtown Tuscon. The driver was run off the road and killed instantly. The truck flipped and started leaking an admittedly colorful array of gases that turned out to be a deadly concoction of Nitric Acid. The gas forced residents within a half-mile to evacuate and others within a mile to shelter in place. Residents want to return to their homes, but the people have no return date in sight. Other residents within the affected area had the shelter-in-place lifted. The interstate was shut down for residents and called an “extended closure” by the Arizona Department of Public Safety tweet, with police and other enforcement pushing drivers to plan for a different route when driving in and around Arizona. Residents exposed to Nitric Acid could report irritation in the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes. It could also cause delayed pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, bronchitis, and dental erosion. One of the most significant environmental disasters in recent years was the train derailment last week in East Palestine, Ohio.
East Palestine: A Norfolk Southern train was cruising through Ohio midway through its trip from Madison, Illinois, on its way to Conway, Pennsylvania. The train derailed with multiple tankers and highly explosive toxins on board. 20 cars carried hazardous materials, with 11 exploding, with the other 38 train cars having already derailed. The government decided to breach five of the tankers and, in doing so, ordered residents to evacuate—the tanks, filled with vinyl chloride, released hydrogen and phosgene into the air. Many reports have come out of Ohio, but not all claims are fact. Many people online have stated that East Palestine is in lockdown by the government, for example, so much so that James Lee, the media relations manager for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, had to tweet that “East Palestine is not in lockdown.” Although some still believe that Mr. Lee is just saying that to cover up the truth of an even more devastating disaster, as silly as that sounds. Another lie that has been circulating is the idea that government officials have been telling the many evacuated residents have been told not to return home just yet. The lie was debunked as of February 8, as it states residents can return to their homes. East Palestine’s train derailment is one of the biggest environmental disasters in United States history, which comes with rumors and ideas floating around the internet, only fueled by the videos and photos coming out of the area. Arrested reporters, dead fish in the water, and many other things have come out, making people jump to theories about this whole disaster being a grand scheme covered by the government with something more nefarious behind the scenes. People will have to wait and see what comes out of the area in the coming years.
East Palestine Train Explosion
The many disasters plaguing the country over the past few weeks have been terrifying to watch: East Palestine, Arizona, and Florida are a few affected areas, pointing to the devastating climate e crisis occurring right before people’s eyes. Will the government do anything to stop or revert global warming and other disasters that only speed up the process? Only time will tell.