Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested that public concern over the chemical catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio is exaggerated because trains derail over 1,000 times per year.
Speaking on Yahoo finance regarding the Ohio train derailment, Buttigieg appeared to downplay the public outcry over the East Palestine “Chernobyl” incident, citing the 1,000 train derailments that occur in America every year.
“While this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing,” Buttigieg said.
Pete Buttigieg on the Ohio train derailment disaster: "While this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing." pic.twitter.com/5NFtZnlDmg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 16, 2023
While it is true that around 1,700 trains derail annually, most incidents are minor in nature, according to government statistics. Only around 170 people are injured every year in train derailments, and the fatality rate is an even lower 4 deaths per year.
In reaction to the LGBTQ+ Transportation Secretary’s remarks, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley chimed in with a seemingly sarcastic comment on Twitter.
“Oh I feel so much better now,” Senator Hawley said of Buttigieg’s claims.
Oh I feel much better now https://t.co/XNs6VPu7QP
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) February 16, 2023
Damages from the chemical fallout were detailed in a recent video posted online by Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance, who surveyed a nearby creek and discovered chemical infested water and soil.
“You just see that chemical pop out of the creek. This is disgusting. And the fact that we have not cleaned up the train crash, the fact that these chemicals are still seeping in the ground is an insult to the people who live in East Palestine,” Senator Vance said.
JD Vance visits a creek in East Palestine: “This is disgusting … Do not forget these people. We’ve got to keep applying pressure.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 16, 2023
“Do not forget these people. We’ve got to keep applying pressure. That’s how we’re going to fix this problem,” the Ohio Senator added.
Buttigieg has been under fire for his comments complaining about how there are too many white construction workers in America, all as Ohio reeled from severe chemical pollution from the East Palestine train derailment.
“We’ve heard way too many stories from generations passed of infrastructure where you’ve got a neighborhood, often a neighborhood of color, that finally sees the project come to them, but everyone in the hard hats on that project, looking like…uh, uh, doing the good paying jobs, don’t look like they came from anywhere near the neighborhood,” the Transportation Secretary said on Monday.
Buttigieg made no mention of the Ohio train derailment while speaking at a conference this morning but did find the time to say that there are too many white people who work construction. pic.twitter.com/q4WNcq10h9
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 13, 2023
“You can build community wealth that will help close wealth gaps in this country if we can tear down those barriers, but that happens at the delivery level,” Buttigieg added.
