Brockovich warns Ohio town of dangers after train crash

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JOHN FLESHER today

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Worried residents packed a high school auditorium Friday as activist Erin Brockovich and attorneys warned of long-term health and environmental dangers from chemicals released after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Brooke Hofmeister, a mother of two young children, said she feared for their health and felt worse than before about the situation after hearing the presentation.

“The truth is pretty scary,” the 29-year-old said.

She and her husband, Cory Hofmeister, said they didn’t feel safe in their hometown and were uncertain about whether to remain, echoing concerns raised by many who attended the two-hour session. It was sponsored by East Palestine Justice, a group formed by Brockovich, lawyers and scientific and medical experts.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ohio-climate-and-environment-a508e18d731ec1b40837ec413bfa1e83

[DownriverDem]

1. They shipped some

of that crap to Michigan without telling our Governor and other officials. They are pretty POd.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/25/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-saturday/index.html

[2naSalit]

4. I saw that last night.

There's going to be some loud screaming for a long time about all of this. Our system of transporting goods should be re-examined, seriously.

[Joinfortmill]

2. Glad to hear she is taking this on.

[Brother Buzz]

6. I like she brought in two other independent law/activist teams, along with hers

All three teams gave the audience, the straight, unvarnished truth, truth the Fat Cats didn't want discussed. Basically, they gave them the tools to fight the good fight, and it's gonna be a long slog.

[republianmushroom]

3. Toxic air pollutants in East Palestine could pose long-term risks,

researchers say, contradicting officials

paywall

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/02/24/ohio-derailment-toxic-air-pollution/

[2naSalit]

5. Among the myriad questions...

Being asked, one of my first questions after seeing headline like this one is, Who exactly is doing the initial sample collection and testing there? Is it EPA? If it is, what the relationship of the workers to the railroad? Same for all other organizations, who is it that is putting out the message that everything is hunky-dory?

If Ms. Brockovich has come to town with her briefcase, there's some real corruption going on and it will be brought to light.

[womanofthehills]

8. On Crystal Ball's podcast - they claimed the RR did the first water sampling tests

Last edited Mon Feb 27, 2023, 07:21 PM - Edit history (1)

And used a lab that was friendly to corporations. She said the initial EPA tests were not done by the EPA but a lab they hired. Also, they played a message from an EPA official saying they were going in soon when it was safer to go in.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

7. AP doesn't mention in their headline or opening BigRail company involved!?

Don’t even care about the name, name the Executives in charge and give the company human faces also and then ask for a news conference with the ahead Honchos who hid the toxic chemicals as they crossed state lines.

Why would they hide the nature of the chemicals? Is there an extra tax? More paperwork? Is there actually a regulation, or law against this? Is the penalty so outrageously low that a profit risk algorithm said…fuck the law, toxic train go go go go! Just don’t explode, ok?

[womanofthehills]

12. Supposedly, they also buried some chemicals under the tracks

Instead of putting 3 billion into brakes, they used billions for stock buybacks so they really don't care about anything but money. I heard 3 billion is what they make every two weeks so it was no big deal.

[iluvtennis]

10. KnR. n/t

[Ziggysmom]

11. A relative in my dad's family was involved in the Times Beach, MO poisoning back in the 1970s.

I remember hearing of all the miscarriages and illnesses affecting them when I was in high school.
The poor folks in Ohio have good reason to be scared.


"This town, Times Beach, Missouri, was the site of one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation’s history. Nearly 40 years ago, an individual was paid to spray material on the roads to suppress the dust in this small Midwest town. What the town didn’t know was that he was spraying those roads with a mixture of the highly toxic chemical compound, dioxin, and waste oil. When the town was inundated by a terrible flood in December 1982, that toxic mix spread beyond the roads and covered the town."

https://www.epa.gov/mo/town-flood-and-superfund-looking-back-times-beach-disaster-nearly-40-years-later

[MichMan]

13. She appeared on Tucker Carlson

[Delphinus]

14. Erin Brockovich?

Really? Did she put him in his place?

[MichMan]

15. Yes, Erin Brokovich

Dont watch the show of course, but did see a video clip.

She said that the facts were being witheld from the residents of East Palestine and that she was going to speak out on their behalf and not let herself be gaslighted.