After a train derailment and chemical explosion in Ohio, multiple reports have emerged of dead fish and wildlife in the area, prompting concerns for the health of people near the incident.
A train carrying vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals derailed on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Three days after the derailment, emergency crews decided to conduct a “controlled burn” of the dangerous chemicals, supposedly in order to prevent a larger and more hazardous explosion.
The controlled burn ultimately caused hydrogen chloride and toxic substances such as phosgene to be released into the surrounding area, prompting the mandatory evacuation of all citizens of East Palestine within a one-mile radius. Photos and videos show giant clouds over the area of the toxic substances being released.
Not a single story on CNN’s homepage
Not a mention on Drudge
Journalists are getting arrested for investigating the Ohio train explosion and animals are dropping dead miles away
What the hell is going on in Ohio and why is the media not talking about it?! pic.twitter.com/pVQjbNsrXS
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) February 13, 2023
Following the evacuation order, federal and local officials informed residents that the air was safe to breathe, and that the water supply was also unaffected. However, experiences on the ground have differed massively from government reports.
Eric Whitining told The Washington Post that the air in East Palestine smells like an “over-chlorinated swimming pool,” burning his eyes. “I’ve watched every news conference and I haven’t heard anything that makes me think that [the end of the evacuation order] is a data-driven decision,” said resident Maura Todd. “We don’t feel like we have a whole lot of information.”
Further reports have emerged of animals and fish dying as a result of the spill. One local resident claimed her chickens died shortly after the explosion, with another, Taylor Holzer, telling reporters that his fox died. “Out of nowhere he just started coughing really hard and just shut down and went very fast,” he said.
Another resident, Russell Murphy, saw “hundreds” of dead fish in a local creek, five miles away from the explosion and 48 hours after it occurred, telling KDKA that the explosion was having “huge enviromental effects.” Clean-up crews entered that same creek.
The massive explosion and poisoning of American citizens should be a much bigger story….why isn’t the media talking about Ohio more?
— Alex Stein #99 (@alexstein99) February 12, 2023
NEW – Thousands of gallons of carcinogenic vinyl chloride has spilled and burned in Ohio from a 50-train car derailment.
Residents wonder whether it's safe to return after the toxic train derailment.https://t.co/JiPY7dI5og pic.twitter.com/aUp1Uao459
— I am @sheeplovelies (@Imsheeplovelies) February 13, 2023
JUST IN: ‘Disaster’ – Authorities are collecting dead fish from rivers surrounding East Palestine, Ohio, following major release of toxins due to a train derailment. pic.twitter.com/rMmUqqB541
— Upward News (@UpwardNewsHQ) February 13, 2023
On Saturday, TikTok user @nymphyyeatsteef who grew up in the area, said that Ohio locals after the train crash were seeing “schools of [dead] fish floating downstream rivers… and on top of the water is a really pretty, chemical rainbow sheen. You literally are about to see some of the worst f**king health side effects coming out of the people in that town, it’s not even funny.”
The TikTokker further claimed that local churches were asking for donations of food, due to the Red Cross and FEMA never turning up to the area. “All the people that were displaced have no food, water, a place to stay… It is so much worse than what they’re telling you,” they added.
“It is so much worse than the media is telling us”
Dead fish and birds everywhere
Chemicals in the water
“You are about to see the worst health side effects”
Food and shelter being donated to evacuees b/c FEMA and Red Cross **nowhere to be found**
pic.twitter.com/Rbh8lXwkL4— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) February 13, 2023
Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist, criticised the “controlled burn” in an interview with WKBN News, saying that authorities had “basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.”
Some of the chemicals, Caggiano noted, were “especially worrisome,” and said that the authorities should have tested all the homes in the area for chemical exposure, rather than just letting people return to them.
“There’s a lot of what ifs, and we’re going to be looking at this thing 5, 10, 15, 20 years down the line and wondering, ‘Gee, cancer clusters could pop up, you know, well water could go bad,'” he added, recommending everyone in the area get a health check up.
In a strange coincidence, many locals in were involved as extras in the 2021 movie “White Noise.” Based on a 1985 book, the film centres around a family being evacuated after a chemical explosion following a train crash in Ohio. “The first half of the movie is all almost exactly what’s going on here,” said Ben Ratner, an East Palestine resident and one of the extras.
JUST IN: Eerie similarities emerge from a movie titled ‘White Noise’ filmed in Ohio near to the ecological train disaster incident in East Palestine, Ohio.
Some reports indicate the town’s residents were also movie Extras. pic.twitter.com/OOx1TgeO6D
— Trending 911 🌐 (@911NewsBreaks) February 13, 2023
