Erin Brockovich didn’t mince words regarding how the federal government has responded to this train crash in East Palestine, Ohio: it’s equally disastrous. To further complicate the situation, there are questions regarding the safety of the surrounding areas, where scores of fish and farm animals have died from the toxic plumes. And now, the safety of drinking water cannot be determined.
— The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) February 19, 2023
The Environmental Protection Agency is finally there, but the federal response has been lethargic. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he would visit the area this week after finding some time to conduct this excursion, even though his schedule isn’t jammed packed because the man never works. Gov. Mike DeWine said that tests showed the water is safe to consume. Still, like COVID, contradictory information has been disseminated to the masses, leaving this community at a loss.
Brockovich aptly noted that air and water tests don’t just change overnight from hazardous to safe. Until the federal government changes its tune and gets the data right, the people of East Palestine are essentially on their own, which is yet another notch in the list of failures emanating from this administration.
As CNN’s Jake Tapper noted, it could take years to supervise the proper cleanup of the crash site, and yet Biden refused federal assistance to the area for two weeks, only changing course once Donald Trump announced he would come to the city.
