Who’s Paying Attention

My early years were spent in an industrial area. Thirteen miles away, Shippingport, the world’s first atomic electric power plant began spewing in 1957. A steel mill, a varnish company, lumberyard and glass factories were all within walking distance from my childhood home. Railcars carrying all sorts of materials passed day and night.

I often say I should glow in the dark from the pollutants released into the woods where we played.

Through the years I watched the steel industry decline and the air and rivers cleared, only to witness the area succumb again to some of the most toxic pollutants known. They took down a mountain to put up Shell’s ethanol plant that makes plastic pellets. It recently went into full production and within weeks exceeded Pennsylvania’s limit on toxic air quality. (Read: Shell’s cracker plant pollution prompts civil law suite).

This is Beaver County, Pennsylvania, recently in the news because of the fiery fifty-railcar derailment in East Palestine, a quaint Ohio village on the border. Five of the 153 railcars carried vinyl chloride, a chemical used in battles during WWI. Residents of East Palestine were evacuated and people miles away were told to stay indoors. They were also told not to worry. 

Dead fish in the stream, but your wells are fine, they’re told. Vinyl chloride is heavier than air so it stays close to the ground, they admit. It’s going take time to know what the effects are, they know, but nothing to be alarmed about.

Norfolk-Southern Rail is going to be responsible for the accident and “we’re going to make sure that’s going to happen, “ say the politicians. Yep. We’ve seen this movie before.

An old time railroader blames cutbacks on railroad jobs and remembers when fewer than 100 railcars were the norm, not 153.

And all I want to know is who’s paying attention?

photo credit: Erics Train Yard

Every Thursday I write a two minute piece that airs on WDRT, Thursdays at 5:30 pm. Then it appears here on my blog. But this piece could be a book.

So here you go: Shell’s ethanol plant took more than ten years to get up and running, during those years the need for plastics has diminished and the recognition that plastic is one of the most toxic substances on the planet has increased. People around the world are outlawing single use plastics, plastic bags and much more. Discoveries around the use of hemp and other natural fibers are proving to be as effective – and healthier for people and planet.

Beaver County was chosen by Shell’s Dutch Royal Company because they knew they could capitalize on a workforce that would do their bidding. It was also chosen because their product was in demand in a 700 mile radius of the area. Within a 700 mile radius the toxicity will be transported.

Apparently the train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Has this become a new thoroughfare for hazardous materials?

While the air quality in the home of my birth continues to decline, the state and corporations continue to cash in on a product which should be banned and continues to put lives at risk.

This is far from over.

Residents of East Palestine are suing Norfolk Southern in a U.S. District Court, alleging negligence. And if you want to learn the gruesome truths about the lenience of laws surrounding the transport of hazardous materials and how the rail industries rejection of modern braking systems played a part in the fiery crash, read Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment.

And if you want to participate in the effort to expose potential hazards BEFORE they become disasters in Beaver County, check out the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community

May we all find the courage to change the scorched earth trajectory that we are on.