# Ohio train derailment - is there a media coverup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695 "2023-02-13T04:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/1 "2023-02-13T04:01:59Z")
I’m seeing some chatter that there is, that the area may have been evacuated of people but that animals are dying in droves, etc. Any truth to that, from people who work in the industry and/or live in the area? This link is about a family from the area who were extras in the recent movie “White Noise”, which is about a similar event. I’ve heard the book is really good, and plan to read it before I see the movie. > **[After a train derailment, Ohio residents are living the plot of a movie they...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/health/ohio-train-derailment-white-noise/index.html)** > > When Ben Ratner's family signed up in 2021 to be extras in the movie "White Noise," they thought it would be a fun distraction from their day-to-day life in blue-collar East Palestine, Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/2 "2023-02-13T04:39:30Z")
Here’s a recent report from nearby Youngstown: > **[‘We basically nuked a town’: 3 more chemicals discovered in Ohio train...](https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/3-additional-chemicals-discovered-on-east-palestine-train-derailment/)** > > First News was recently informed of three more chemicals that were on the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine just over a week ago — and we are being told that those chemic… > “We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open,” said Silverado Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist. > > The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to Norfolk Southern stating that ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene were also in the rail cars that were derailed, breached and/or on fire. > > Caggiano says ethylhexyl acrylate is especially worrisome. He says it’s a carcinogen and contact with it can cause burning and irritation in the skin and eyes. Breathing it in can irritate the nose and throat and cause coughing and shortness of breath. > > Isobutylene is also known to cause dizziness and drowsiness when inhaled. [Ohio Dept. of Ag. says “no reports of dying animals”](https://www.salemnews.net/train-derails-in-east-palestine/2023/02/odnr-no-reports-of-dying-animals-in-east-palestine/) despite [claims made in the _New York Post_.](https://nypost.com/2023/02/10/animals-sick-dying-near-east-palestine-ohio-train-crash/) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/3 "2023-02-13T13:08:24Z")
Thing is, those chemicals can’t be affecting Ohio to the degree that they’re affecting PA. East Palestine is on the state line and the prevailing winds blow east - directly into Pennsylvania. I grew up in the affected county in PA, 30 minutes from the state line, and still have friends who live in the area. I’m much more worried about the PA friends than the Ohio ones. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/4 "2023-02-13T13:29:21Z")
We are in the golden age of communications and “News for Money” reigns supreme. Being the first to publicize such a coverup would be a media coup of the first order. I think it has become virtually impossible to keep a news genie in a bottle. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/5 "2023-02-13T14:29:05Z")
Ther is simply no such thing as a “media cover-up”. Any time anyone is using those words they are lying to you. At best they are mis-informed, but it’s far more likely they totally know they’re spreading falsehoods. And are happy doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/6 "2023-02-13T14:46:30Z")
What’s the cover up supposed to be? It can’t be that the incident occurred and that it’s a big deal. Here are some AP articles from my local (Pittsburgh) paper in the days immediately after the derailment: [50-car train derailment causes big fire, evacuations in Ohio](https://triblive.com/local/regional/fire-caused-by-train-derailment-in-ohio/) [Ohio officials urge evacuation near derailment, fearing explosion](https://triblive.com/news/world/50-car-train-derailment-causes-big-fire-evacuations-in-ohio/) [Crews release toxic chemicals from derailed tankers in Ohio](https://triblive.com/local/regional/ohio-authorities-plan-controlled-release-of-toxic-material/) [Residents worry about going home, toxic gas from derailment](https://triblive.com/local/regional/residents-kept-out-as-air-checked-near-derailed-ohio-train/) [The EPA has a pretty thorough site about the incident.](https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933) It’s scary for the immediate area and there are still unknowns. But it’s very weird that some corners of the internet decided this past weekend that it was a story no one was talking about. And that it’s somehow going to destroy western PA or the Great Lakes and that anyone who doesn’t think there’s evidence of that is a shill. Anyway. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/7 "2023-02-13T15:08:55Z")
I also feel like there’s been quite a lot of news, and that it’s hard to cover up something that literally forced lots of on-line people to move. I first saw the news on the “news crawl” of a building in NYC, as we were on our way to catch a train, so maybe it made a bigger impression on me than on some? But still… I guess I didn’t see the story that there was a coverup, but I wonder what sparked it. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/8 "2023-02-13T15:21:29Z")
Maybe they are trying to clear the area so the UFO can land? Is there a Devil’s Tower-like rock formation nearby? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Any time anyone is using those words they are lying to you. At best they are mis-informed, but it’s far more likely they totally know they’re spreading falsehoods. And are happy doing so. Very true! ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/9 "2023-02-13T17:14:39Z")
Footage apparently showing the train already on fire while traveling 20 miles before it derailed has surfaced. > **[Footage showing a fiery axle 20 miles before East Palestine train derailment...](https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2023/02/10/east-palestine-train-derailment-video-fire-axle-alert/stories/202302100070)** > > The Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last week, setting aflame tankers of hazardous chemicals and prompting an evacuation... IDK if it’d be a good idea to make a new thread(s) for other tangents about this story but hopefully this is more or less on topic. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/10 "2023-02-13T17:26:49Z")
> [@DeadTreasSecretaries](#): > > Footage apparently showing the train already on fire while traveling 20 miles before it derailed has surfaced. To be fair (and as the article notes), at that point, the “train” wasn’t on fire; there was a fire burning on one axle of one car. That likely did wind up being the cause of the resulting derailment and ensuing fire. That sort of situation is exactly what a “hot box detector” is supposed to identify (and alert the train crew to); based on the reporting in the article, it seems that there may have been a hot box detector near where that video was taken, which may not have sounded an alert. There then wasn’t another detector for some distance along the rail line, until close to where the actual derailment occurred. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/11 "2023-02-13T18:10:03Z")
From what I can see watching that video there is fire on the umderside of one of the cars spanning multiple axles. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/12 "2023-02-14T16:59:16Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Maybe they are trying to clear the area so the UFO can land? Is there a Devil’s Tower-like rock formation nearby? That’s what I was thinking. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/13 "2023-02-14T17:54:10Z")
If you see balloons converging on the area … Run away, run away! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/14 "2023-02-15T07:03:15Z")
> This is not a local issue. This massive plume will spread far and wide, and is being blown by the prevailing winds across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York State, toward the population centers of the northeastern U.S. And via land and water, the toxins can spread in many directions, via water, soil movement and air (since the prevailing winds are only an average). And the contamination is so serious that even soil tracking will spread significant amounts. What few people remember is how the town of [Times Beach, Missouri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Beach,_Missouri) was evacuated, purchased by the federal government, leveled and had its zip code removed, from far, far less dioxin contamination. > **[East Palestine, Ohio train wreck: It's the dioxin](https://planetwavesfm.substack.com/p/palestine-ohio-train-wreck-its-the)** > > It's not just what was in the tanker cars. It's what happens when they burn and combine. This may be the largest dioxin plume in world history. I know of no more serious of this kind release. Anyone know chemistry and can comment on this? ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/15 "2023-02-15T22:57:44Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Anyone know chemistry and can comment on this? I don’t know chemistry but I was Journalism School when a lot of the disasters he mentions was being covered. So, whoa! Serious issue. Our class was merely directed that a degree in Journalism does not necessarily make one a good journalist, but that knowledge and a degree in a specific area such as Chemistry would put more weight behind the words of a Journalist, Lawyer, or any kind of specialty. Basically, it was pointed out to us that Journalists, amongst others, must never stop learning. Yeah, it doesn’t speak to your point except to emphasize that dioxin is a huge issue and, if true (I think it is very likely true), we need to get the word out now. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/16 "2023-02-16T00:08:49Z")
Here’s East Palestine’s Wiki page, which includes census information and other demographics. > **[East Palestine, Ohio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Palestine,_Ohio)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > East Palestine (/ˌpæləˈstiːn/ PAL-ə-STEEN) is a village in northeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,761 at the 2020 census. Located on the state's border with Pennsylvania, East Palestine is about 20 miles (31 km) south of Youngstown and 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Salem micropolitan area. > The city was home to industries in ceramics and tire manufacturing from the 1870s until the mid-... ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/17 "2023-02-17T01:15:21Z")
NBC just reported from a source that the burnt-up and leached-out chemicals will be eventually cleaned up. There has to be something that neutralizes vinyl chloride and the other leaked chemicals. I think vinyl chloride’s apparently in landfills so maybe common in the environment apparently. There was someone in the SD discussion group who said she worked in a vinyl chloride facility who said it’s stickiness clogged her nose after just a few hours. She said it was like suicide working there. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/18 "2023-02-22T23:01:18Z")
> **[EPA says it can fine Norfolk Southern $70,000 a day if it falls short of...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-wednesday/index.html)** > > The head of the Environmental Protection Agency threatened expensive consequences if Norfolk Southern fails to fully clean up its toxic train wreck and pay for the fallout in East Palestine, Ohio. So suddenly the head of the EPA, the secretary of the Department of Transportation, the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania are making very strong speeches and making lots of threats to Norfolk Southern–after weeks of doing very little. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/19 "2023-02-23T10:51:21Z")
There’s a criminal referral now. > **[Pennsylvania attorney general's office will investigate Norfolk Southern...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/21/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-tuesday/index.html)** > > The Pennsylvania attorney general's office will investigate the toxic derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train after receiving a criminal referral from state environmental officials. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695/20 "2023-02-25T12:58:55Z")
It’s interesting how the PA Attorney General said they have a constitutional right to breathe clean air and drink clean water. It’s an unspiring thought. I just wonder how they’re going to clean up the remediating bacteria they use to clean up vinyl chloride. I think the bacteria’s something like ‘nitrosomana europea.’ That europea stuff seems prohibitive if they use enough of it. I clean outdoor surfaces but have never used it for that purpose. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-train-derailment-is-there-a-media-coverup/979695.md?page=2)