Residents characterize the incident as “our Chernobyl” after a horrifying train wreck that released hazardous gases into the air.
Two weeks after the horrifying disaster, citizens of Ohio, United States, are, in the words of one, “Suspicious, paranoid and worried.”
Public meetings between town officials and the corporation that owns the train that crashed were planned, but after health and safety concerns were raised, the latter party cancelled the meeting.
Residents are “scared” as they deal with a train disaster that resulted in hazardous gases and a massive fire from the vinyl chloride explosion, which is being caused by the same safety issues.
Of the 150 connected cars, about 20 were loaded with hazardous chemicals, and 11 of those 20 were derailed.
Some of the 11 derailed carriages were carrying vinyl chloride, a substance that is safe when used to make PVC but extremely hazardous when not in use and may cause liver damage.
East Palestine, Ohio, is currently being bombarded by deadly poisons, and one local who spoke to BBC News compared it to “our Chernobyl”
About the Ukraine nuclear disaster, John Hamner expressed concern for his family, saying that the train derailment and the poisonous cloud had “totally wrecked” their lives.
I want to leave this place right now, Mr. Hamner remarked. We’ll change locations. We are unable to continue. I’m getting very little sleep. I’ve already had two doctor visits, and I also take anxiety medication.
When people hear trains, worry about their children going outside, or allow their dog outside and it unintentionally drinks contaminated water, they become frightened. This is serious.
Ben Ratner, the owner of a local coffee shop, compared the incident to a town-scale “Pearl Harbour, or a 9/11” occurrence.
Only two months prior to the horrific train collision in Ohio, Netflix published White Noise, a movie shot in Ohio that shows a train crash and the chemical fog that follows it as it sweeps across the town.
»Chernobyl-like catastrophe in Ohio after huge train wreck leads to toxic plume«