At least five people are dead and 19 more are injured after an explosion at a chemical plant rocked the eastern Shandong province in China on Tuesday.
The explosion, which broke windows as far as two miles away and sent massive plumes of smoke hundreds of feet into the air, occurred at the Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co. in the city of Weifang, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-chemical-plant-explosion-c6cf0f35f996654221e9fb8de7d9fcee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The chemical plant manufactures pesticides, along with chemicals used in the medical industry.
An additional six people have been reported missing after the explosion. The plant employs over 500 people, according to the AP. It is the world&#8217;s largest producer of chlorpyrifos, an insecticide used to control pests in crops and homes, according to the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3311981/explosion-hits-chemical-plant-eastern-chinese-province-shandong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South China Morning Post</a>. In the first eight months of 2024, the Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co. reportedly identified and rectified over 800 safety hazards.
Over 230 fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the explosion, and no cause has been given yet. A student at a nearby school told China Central Television that after he heard the explosion, he saw dirt-yellow smoke with some redness in it, adding that there was a funny smell. The students were reportedly given masks and told to leave them on their faces. Officials have yet to determine the environmental effects of the explosion.
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China is the world leader in chemical production, an industry where the communist country has witnessed multiple deadly explosions and fires in recent years. The massive blast in Weifang on Tuesday comes six years after an explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, China, killed 78 people. In 2015, over 170 people died or went missing after a fire broke out at a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals in Tianjin.

Chemical Plant Explosion

Massive Explosion At Chinese Chemical Plant Kills At Least Five, Injures Dozens

Chemicals

Communist China

Death

Explosion

General

World

The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Morning Wire host Georgia Howe and Vani Hari, aka The Food Babe, on her support for RFK Jr. during his Senate confirmation hearings and how her personal story led her to fight to remove harmful chemicals from children’s food. Catch the full interview on a special <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/food-babe-vani-hari-explains-her-support-for-rfk-jr-during-his" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday edition of Morning Wire</a>.
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Make America Healthy Again champion, RFK Jr., was grilled on Capitol Hill this week as part of his confirmation process to become Health and Human Services Secretary. Despite fierce opposition from some Senators, parents and health advocates on both sides of the aisle have lined up to support him. In this episode we speak with Vani Hari, longtime food activist and New York Times bestselling author who was in the room supporting Kennedy during his Senate confirmation hearings. She explains why she believes parents are finally winning the battle to get chemicals out of kids’ food.
<div id="attachment_870139" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870139" class="size-large wp-image-870139" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during his Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kennedy is testifying for a second day following a tense three-hour hearing before the Senate Finance Committee where he clashed with Democrats over his stance on vaccines and abortion rights. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images</div>
GEORGIA: Joining us to discuss the war over chemical-laced packaged food is Vani Hari, bestselling author, activist, and creator of the <a href="https://foodbabe.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food Babe blog</a>. Vani thanks so much for coming on.
VANI: Thank you so much for having me.
GEORGIA: So first off, tell me a little bit about your path to food activism. How did you become interested in nutrition to begin with?
VANI: My parents came here as immigrants in the 1960s. And when they came to the United States, they were big on adopting the American culture. So when my dad went back to have an arranged marriage to my mother in India and they ended up coming here to live the rest of their lives, the first thing he introduced her to was a McDonald&#8217;s hamburger. And that&#8217;s how I was raised on an American standard diet. We were one of the only Indian families in Charlotte, North Carolina at that point, where I grew up and where I live now.
So everything was kind of handed to us in terms of what we should be eating and my parents were very trusting of the American food system. As a result, I was really sick as a child. I had eczema, I had asthma, I was in and out of doctor&#8217;s offices for most of my life. I was on so many prescription drugs. When my parents would take me to see doctors, they never asked them, like, “What is she eating? What are you feeding her?” They never asked about my diet, they just put me on the next medication. And that is how I grew up.
In my early 20s, I hit rock bottom when I ended up in the hospital having to get my appendix taken out, one of my organs. At the time they said, “Your appendix is something you don&#8217;t even need. It&#8217;s an organ that just can come out.” They made such a light situation out of it. I started to question what the doctors were telling me. Why did God give us an appendix? Why do we evolve having an appendix? I wanted to find answers. What happened to my appendix and why was it about to burst?
<div id="attachment_870125" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870125" class="size-large wp-image-870125" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-864x576.jpg" alt="Vani Hari, known as the &quot;Food Babe&quot;, speaks at the Green Festival in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Food Babe is the nom de blog for Hari, a 35-year-old banking consultant turned food activist, who has built a loyal online audience by calling out companies from Starbucks Corp. to Chick-fil-A Inc. for ingredients she deems harmful. Photographer: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
So when I started to research what was happening in my body, I found out that I had extreme inflammation, and that was coming from my diet. When I started to make changes shortly after that scare, I remember getting this one big book and there was a concept in it that hit me like a ton of bricks: The majority of foods on the grocery store shelf are dead. They&#8217;re not alive. And I thought, that&#8217;s how I&#8217;ve felt for most of my life. Like a zombie. Not wanting to get up in the morning to go to school. Not wanting to participate in activities or physical sport activities because I didn&#8217;t have the energy because of my asthma. So when I started to take the concepts in that book and apply them to my life, I started to eat as much real living food as possible, things like fruits and vegetables and things that I would find at the farmer&#8217;s market — my whole life changes. I mean, it was dramatic to the point where I lost all of the weight that I had put on as a result of this lifestyle.
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I also started to realize a level of health that I never thought was possible. I got off nine prescription drugs, and the people around me who grew up with me — my relatives, my friends, my family — they were like, “Whoa, you have made a dramatic transformation in your appearance. What are you doing? We want a piece of what you&#8217;re doing.” They actually begged me to start a blog to share this information, to share my recipes and what I was doing, and why I suddenly refused to eat candy because it had artificial food dyes. They wanted to know the green drink that I was drinking and what was in it and how they could make it at home.
And this is before we even had a Whole Foods in Charlotte. Back then it was the little mom and pop natural food stores or the farmer&#8217;s market. So I had to really teach people in my community and people around me about these new methodologies of how to take care of your health and actually look at the root cause of what&#8217;s happening in your body. I started to realize that there were so many people out there beyond my friends and family who didn&#8217;t know the truth about what was happening in our food supply. I wanted to investigate it for them. And I wanted to investigate it for my own personal reasons. There are so many products that I thought were healthy but weren&#8217;t actually healthy. Things that I thought were good for me because they only had 400 calories or this many fat grams or they had the marketing of “eat fresh” at their fast food chain — I thought I was eating fresh, but I found out I wasn&#8217;t.
So I started to investigate these major fast food chains and major food companies. And then companies started reaching out to me. I think the first one was a yogurt chain who I was very upset with because they were really promoting the fact that they were using “organic milk” in their yogurt. And I thought, “This is amazing. This is so awesome. I could go to the mall and I can have this treat and it&#8217;s good for me.” But when you looked at the ingredients, they were coloring their products with artificial food dye. They were putting in preservatives and trans fats. Yes they were starting with organic milk, but they were adding 30 more chemicals to the concoction they put in the machines. So I wrote about that and how duped I felt, and it went so viral that the CEO of the company reached out to me, pulled the marketing off their stores, and apologized.
GEORGIA: Wow.
VANI: That was my first taste of activism, and my first taste of, “Oh my gosh, my voice can make a difference.” And then Chick-fil-A invited me to their headquarters after I wrote an article called “Chemical Filet or Chick-fil-A?” I showed the hundred ingredients that they have in their Chick-fil-A sandwich and how I thought they were healthier than going to McDonald&#8217;s. But when I compared them to the McDonald&#8217;s ingredients they were virtually the same. And this really shocked people. I mean, it went so viral that the executives at Chick-fil-A invited me to their headquarters to consult on their menu items on how to make their ingredients better. 
When I was taking off work to go there to consult with them, instead of consulting with the banking institutions, I was like, “Okay, something got to give here. Like this is obviously way more impactful than what I&#8217;m doing at the banks.” So I ended up deciding to quit my job. I was not making a dime doing Food Babe. It was literally a passion project.
The beautiful thing that happened after I quit my job was, I was able to spend 100% of my time researching the food industry. And the first thing I did — you know, I was an avid traveler. I loved to travel, it&#8217;s been a passion of mine since I was a little girl. And whenever I would go to Europe or another country, I&#8217;d always feel better. I felt better. I liked the food better, it tasted better. And I thought, “What&#8217;s going on here? Why is it so different?” So I started to compare products that we have here in the United States to products that they sell in other countries — the exact same products. Like a Doritos package here in the United States versus a Doritos package in Europe. And I would compare the ingredients. I did this large investigation and I think the title is something like, “How U.S. Companies Are Exploiting Americans.” I showed these stark differences between the same product that&#8217;s being sold here and in other countries, and how in other countries they&#8217;re using better and safer ingredients. And while here they&#8217;re using man-made chemical additives. That side-by-side comparison went so viral that it was an opportunity to finally say, “You know what, we need to hold the food companies accountable for this.”
<div id="attachment_870127" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870127" class="size-large wp-image-870127" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-864x576.jpg" alt="CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 05: Delegate Vani Hari holds signs that say &quot;Label GMOs&quot; during day two of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 5, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
One of the examples in that investigation was Quaker Oats. Here in the United States, Quaker Oats has a “Strawberry and Cream” Quaker Oat pack, right? They had dyed Apple pieces to make them strawberry — dyed with a Red 40, an artificial food dye, linked to hyperactivity in children and can be contaminated with carcinogens. But in Europe, they&#8217;re using real strawberries. And you know, Quaker quickly got caught on that and that product doesn&#8217;t exist anymore, thankfully. But it was something that I just couldn&#8217;t believe the stark differences.
So I decided to take on one of the largest food companies in the world, which was Kraft at the time. They were serving little children Mac and Cheese with artificial food dyes — Yellow-5 and Yellow-6. Meanwhile, in Europe, they&#8217;re using paprika and beta carotene. It was a viral petition. It was so exciting, for the first time we were on national TV.
So I took them on. I remember it [the petition] gained a lot of steam, like 270,000 signatures, very quickly. And on April 1 — it wasn&#8217;t Happy April Fool&#8217;s Day for Kraft that day because I took the petition to their headquarters and I demanded a meeting and they sat down with me. I sat down and I looked them in the eye and I just said, “Why aren&#8217;t you doing this for American children? You already have the formulation in other countries. Why are we getting the man-made additives that are linked to all of these health issues that we&#8217;re experiencing? You know we have crazy chronic rates of disease with our kids, we have like close to half of children on some kind of medication. What is going on here?” And they looked at me and they said, “We have to agree to disagree.” And they dismissed me. And I thought, you know what? I&#8217;m not going to let up. I&#8217;m going to keep leading the charge. I&#8217;m going to keep educating the public. I&#8217;m going to tell people the truth about these chemicals.
Within six or seven months, they had to change because what happened was we were able to change the marketplace. People went from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to their competitor, Annie&#8217;s, who didn&#8217;t use artificial food dyes. And then General Mills saw an opportunity — we&#8217;re going to buy Annie&#8217;s for $800 million. So, at that point, Kraft&#8217;s like, “Shoot, we&#8217;re going to lose all our market share. We need to change right now.” And they did.
The funniest part of it all, which just makes me laugh to this day, is whenever they told the press that they were making the change, they&#8217;re like, “It had nothing to do with the petition,” right? “It had nothing to do with the worldwide press on this issue.” So I took that momentum and took on more giants&#8230;
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<h3>Catch the FULL INTERVIEW on Morning Wire</h3>
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2Vani_Hari_(54234584603) copy

‘The Food Babe’ Vani Hari’s MAHA Mission To Remove Chemicals From Food

'The Food Babe' Vani Hari’s MAHA Mission To Remove Chemicals From Food

Chick-fil-A

Corporations

Department of Health and Human Services

Fast-Food

Food

Kelloggs

Organic Food

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Some residents in Conyers, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/georgia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a>, have received orders to evacuate, while others have been told to shelter-in-place, following a fire at a chemical plant.
Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel said on Sunday that the fire was caused by a water-reactive chemical and a sprinkler malfunction.
&#8220;What we know is about 5 o&#8217;clock this morning, a sprinkler head malfunctioned, causing a mixture with a water-reactive chemical,&#8221; she told reporters. &#8220;That chemical produced a plume that has been shifting north.&#8221;
McDaniel said it&#8217;s unclear what chemicals are contained in the plume. She added that the plant was evacuated and everyone in the nearby area is safe.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was en route to Rockdale, the fire chief said.
Images and video of the massive plume have been posted online. Meteorologist James Spann posted images from Interstate-20 in Conyers:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
From LeeAnna “James we are on I-20 in Conyers, GA. BioLabs is on fire right now.” <a href="https://t.co/31dpjz4HIM">pic.twitter.com/31dpjz4HIM</a>
— James Spann (@spann) <a href="https://twitter.com/spann/status/1840455959753503153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
Parts of that interstate have since been closed. &#8220;Be advised I-20 east and westbound are closed between Turner Hill Road and Salem Road,&#8221; the City of Conyers said on X. &#8220;Note the evacuation area map below. If you are in this area, please consider evacuating to a safe place.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Be advised I-20 east and westbound are closed between Turner Hill Road and Salem Road. Note the evacuation area map below. If you are in this area, please consider evacuating to a safe place. <a href="https://t.co/zfNJcyx0CH">pic.twitter.com/zfNJcyx0CH</a>
— City of Conyers, GA (@CityofConyersGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CityofConyersGA/status/1840452292425748979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
RawsAlerts compiled other video of the plume:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Shelter-in-Place and Evacuations Ordered Due to Biolab Chemical Plant Fire releasing massive amounts toxic smoke
📌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Conyers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Conyers</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Georgia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Georgia</a>
Currently, a shelter-in-place order and evacuations are underway as numerous hazmat crews and other emergency services respond to… <a href="https://t.co/zvDpvnYIrv">pic.twitter.com/zvDpvnYIrv</a>
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/rawsalerts/status/1840469403105976801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
A representative from BioLab <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/residents-evacuated-after-fire-at-conyers-chemical-plant-officials-say/NLTZ6RLMIZCERF76B7FHUQFRYE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the company is &#8220;actively responding&#8221; to the fire.
“Our employees are accounted for with no injuries reported,&#8221; the rep said. &#8220;Our team is on the scene, working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation.&#8221;
The facility is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biolab-chemical-plant-fire-evacuation-a9c7ddcbec42fcd891831101b9ccd1d4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> a swimming pool and spa water care division of KIK Consumer Products.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="WATCH LIVE: Officials brief on fire at Biolab in Rockdale County, GA | FOX 5 News" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/szjSJ7sKt2Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Georgia Chemical Plant Fire

Evacuation Ordered In Georgia After Fire Ignites At Chemical Plant

Fire

Georgia

U.S.

A train derailment in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kentucky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kentucky</a> on Wednesday caused molten sulphur to spill out of two cars, starting a fire and leading to some residents evacuating the area. 
The derailment, which involved 16 cars, <a href="https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/media/press-releases/csx-responds-to-livingston-kentucky-derailment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">happened</a> at around 2:23 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in an area just north of Livingstone, Kentucky. By Thursday afternoon, CSX, the train operator <a href="https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/media/press-releases/livingston-kentucky-derailment-update-4-00-p-m/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the fire had been put out and residents could go home. 
&#8220;CSX and local emergency responders in Rockcastle county, Ky. have extinguished the fire that resulted from yesterday’s train derailment just north of Livingston, Ky. Specialized equipment has been deployed to conduct air monitoring in the area and local authorities have determined it safe for residents to return to their homes,” CSX said in a statement. 
The previous day, CSX said that it had sent specialized equipment to the area to test air quality because burning molten sulphur releases sulphur dioxide. The train operator paid for about 112 residents to go to stay in nearby Mt. Vernon while the fires were put out. 
Evacuation wasn’t required, but government officials did allow residents to decide for themselves if they wanted to leave the area.
&#8220;[Evacuation] wasn&#8217;t mandated but we went to each one of the homes twice and highly recommended that they evacuate,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/small-kentucky-town-urged-evacuate-train-derails-spilling-chemicals-rcna126481" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> a government spokesperson. &#8220;Some people chose to stay at home: that was totally their own decision.&#8221;
On Thursday, Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovAndyBeshear/status/1727806265307324616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement that he was thankful for those who responded to the fire. 
“Thank you to the first responders who worked hard to put out the fire at the train derailment site in Rockcastle County. While there is still work to be done, we are thankful for the good news that our families in Livingston are able to spend the rest of Thanksgiving at home,” he said. 
In the last year, there has been a spate of train derailments across the country from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-norfolk-southern-train-derails-as-ceo-testifies-to-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trains-with-potentially-hazardous-material-crash-into-montana-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Montana</a> to Ohio, where a derailment in East Palestine cost over $800 million and the release of toxic chemicals into the air. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
After the derailment in East Palestine, train operator Norfolk Southern <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/norfolk-southern-says-cost-of-east-palestine-derailment-has-doubled-as-chemical-cleanup-continues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opted</a> to burn several cars filled with the dangerous chemical vinyl chloride over fears that the cars would explode. The fire sent a cloud of smoke that remained over the town of 4,700 for days. Nearly six months after the disaster, chemicals from the derailment appear to still be present in a creek as trucks continue to haul contaminated water and soil out of the town, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ohio-train-derailment-norfolk-southern-update-cb5815ee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

A CSX Rail Terminal Ahead Of Earnings Figures

Chemicals Leak Following Kentucky Train Derailment Caused Evacuations Over Thanksgiving

Disasters

Kentucky

Thanksgiving

Train

At least five people are dead after multiple vehicles, including a truck carrying anhydrous ammonia, crashed on Highway 40 near Teutopolis, Illinois, Friday night. 
The crash caused a “chemical plume” and forced people living within a one-mile radius of the crash to evacuate, WCIA <a href="https://www.wcia.com/news/ammonia-leak-forces-evacuation-closes-route-40-in-effingham-county/">reported</a>. Anhydrous ammonia, which is used widely for agricultural purposes, is a toxic chemical that can cause lung irritation, severe respiratory issues, and can burn skin and eyes. 
The accident resulted in “a large plume, cloud of anhydrous ammonia on the roadway that caused terribly dangerous air conditions in the northeast area of Teutopolis,” Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns <a href="https://apnews.com/article/teutopolis-effingham-illinois-truck-accident-chemical-spill-4e86653cb60515022dea05c45046329d">said</a>. “Because of these conditions, the emergency responders had to wait. They had to mitigate the conditions before they could really get to work on it, and it was a fairly large area.”
&#8220;It&#8217;s bad stuff if you breathe it especially because it gets in your airways, in your lungs and it burns,&#8221; Kuhns added. 
The tanker carrying the anhydrous ammonia rolled into a ditch after crashing and began leaking the toxic chemical, according to Tim McMahon, chief of the Teutopolis Fire Protection District, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/teutopolis-effingham-illinois-truck-accident-chemical-spill-4e86653cb60515022dea05c45046329d">reported</a>. 
Hours before the crash, traffic was rerouted to Highway 40 because of another crash on I-70 eastbound. Authorities are investigating what caused the crash that killed five and resulted in the release of the toxic chemical.  
As of Saturday morning, the highway remained closed as crews worked to contain the chemical leak. It remained unclear how many people were evacuated in the village of Teutopolis which is home to around 1,500 people, and evacuation order remained in place Saturday as a shelter was set up for those who had to leave their homes, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/30/us/illinois-anhydrous-ammonia-leak/index.html">reported</a>. Kuhns said they did not have a time period for when residents could return home. 
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&#8220;I understand how frustrating that would be to not be allowed to travel or to go back home but we really need to focus our resources on this spill,&#8221; he said.

Police lights

Crash Involving Truck Carrying Toxic Chemical Kills 5, Forces Evacuations In Illinois Town

Car Crash

Illinois

Police

The last of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed last week at a Kentucky munitions plant, the Pentagon said Monday. 
In 1986, Congress ordered the destruction of America’s chemical weapons, and 11 years later, the U.S. joined 192 countries in the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997, requiring the weapons’ complete elimination by September 30 of this year, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/10/chemical-weapons-pentagon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Chemical weapons were first used on a large scale in the trenches of Europe during World War I, causing horrifying deaths through suffocation and wrecking of the nervous system. 
At its peak, America’s chemical weapons stockpile reached 30,000 metric tons, requiring the country to take decades to destroy the weapons while seeking the safest way to eliminate the chemical agents. 
“Destroying the remainder posed a greater challenge because it involved the more complicated approach of neutralizing these munitions’ chemicals,” said Douglas Bush, an Army assistant secretary. 
The final chemical weapon to be destroyed was a rocket filled with a nerve agent called sarin, “one of the most toxic of the known chemical warfare agents,” <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750001.html#:~:text=Sarin%20(military%20designation%20GB)%20is,the%20skin%20can%20be%20fatal." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says that just 1 to 10 mL of sarin can be fatal, and the chemical is even more dangerous because it is odorless and tasteless. During World War I, chemicals such as chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas killed approximately 100,000 people, according to the United Nations, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4089820-us-destroys-last-of-its-chemical-weapons-ending-decades-long-effort/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.  
Last month, the U.S. military destroyed the last of its mustard gas-filled projectiles and mortars at a destruction facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The U.S. was the final signatory of the convention to have reportedly destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile, but U.S. officials question if China and Russia followed through on their pledge. 
“We have questions about some of the destruction of China’s stockpile,” said Mallory Stewart, the assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification, and compliance. “We also have concerns, specifically, with respect to the undeclared chemical weapons that Russia is maintaining.”
America’s destruction of its last chemical weapon comes as the Biden administration approved sending controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine last week. Ukraine, now engaged in a counter-offensive against Russian forces, is set to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-to-send-cluster-bombs-to-ukraine-bypassing-u-s-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">receive</a> a round of cluster bombs from the Biden administration in a drawdown of weapons that bypasses U.S. law. 
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Despite American law prohibiting the production, use, or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1%, President Joe Biden is able to bypass the law through a rarely used provision of the Foreign Assistance Act, The Washington Post reported.
Cluster bombs, first developed and used during World War II, are banned by most countries due to the view that they are inhumane because of high failure rates and unexploded fragments that can linger for years, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66134663" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the BBC.

Gasmask and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) suit

U.S. Destroys Last Chemical Weapon, Pentagon Says

Biden Administration

Global Politics

Pentagon

World War I

If you’re drinking water directly from the tap, there’s a chance it contains potentially harmful “forever chemicals,” according to a study <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/tap-water-study-detects-pfas-forever-chemicals-across-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> Wednesday by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). 
The study found that 45% of the tap water in the United States likely contains at least one “forever chemical,” also known as per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). The chemicals are believed to possibly cause numerous health problems in humans, including increased cancer risk, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per</a> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
&#8220;USGS scientists tested water collected directly from people’s kitchen sinks across the nation, providing the most comprehensive study to date on PFAS in tap water from both private wells and public supplies,” Kelly Smalling, USGS research hydrologist and lead author of the study, said.
“The study estimates that at least one type of PFAS — of those that were monitored — could be present in nearly half of the tap water in the U.S. Furthermore, PFAS concentrations were similar between public supplies and private wells,” Smalling added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
At least 45% of the nation’s tap water could have one or more types of the chemicals known as <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PFAS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PFAS</a>, according to a new USGS study. This study is the first to analyze PFAS in tap water from both private and public supplies broadly throughout the US. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/water?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#water</a> <a href="https://t.co/S2WteG9R26">https://t.co/S2WteG9R26</a> <a href="https://t.co/zz85IqZwni">pic.twitter.com/zz85IqZwni</a>
&mdash; USGS (@USGS) <a href="https://twitter.com/USGS/status/1676667327532912641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The USGS explains that forever chemicals are synthetic and used in various everyday items, including nonstick pots and pans and fast food box linings. Other products that can contain PFAS include shampoo, nail polish, candy wrappers, pizza boxes, and microwave popcorn bags, <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/exposure.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the CDC. Even products for babies are not immune from forever chemicals — they have been detected in clothing, toys, and bedding, the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11390811/Toxic-forever-chemicals-childrens-clothes-bedding.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>.  
Of the more than 12,000 different types of PFAS, the USGS only monitored 32 because many forever chemicals cannot be detected with tests available today, the government agency explained. They are referred to as “forever chemicals” because of the prolonged period of time they take to break down. 
As for the most commonly found forever chemicals detected, the USGS says PFOs, PFBS, PFHxS, and PFOA appeared regularly. 
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Americans who live in urban areas are more likely to encounter PFAS in drinking water, the study says. PFAS exposure was higher in the Great Plains, Great Lakes region, Central and Southern California, and the Eastern Seaboard. During the research, which the USGS says is the first study of its kind, tap water samples were tested at 716 locations “representing a range of low, medium and high human-impacted areas.” 
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, forever chemicals “<a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may lead to</a>” decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, behavioral changes, accelerated puberty, hormonal interference, decreased immune response, and increased risk of obesity, among other potential health effects. 
“PFAS can get into drinking water when products or wastes containing them are disposed of, used or spilled onto the ground or into lakes and rivers,” the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse/faq/categories/pfas-101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> notes. “PFAS move easily through the ground, getting into groundwater that is used for some water supplies or for private drinking water wells.”

Tap Water Glass

Nearly Half Of U.S. Tap Water Contains ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Government Study Finds

Drinking Water

Health

A large shipment of an explosive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chemicals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chemical</a> transported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/railroads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">train</a> in the western <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United States</a> has gone missing.
Roughly 30 tons of ammonium nitrate disappeared in mid-April while being moved from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wyoming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wyoming</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>, prompting explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel to inform federal authorities. More than a month after material vanished during the nearly two-week trip, officials have yet to find cargo, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/us/chemical-missing-shipment-california-wyoming.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times reported</a> on Sunday.
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical often used in agricultural fertilizer but can also be implemented in explosives, as it was in the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/programs/ammonium-nitrate-security-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the federal government</a>.
A Dyno Nobel spokesperson said the railcar was sealed when it left a facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the seals were &#8220;still intact&#8221; when it arrived in Saltdale, California. The &#8220;initial assessment is that a leak through the bottom gate on the railcar may have developed in transit,&#8221; a company spokesperson added.
The company also says it had &#8220;limited control&#8221; of the train during transport and that the railcar in question was sent back to Wyoming for inspection.
California-based news station <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11949697/california-officials-trying-to-track-down-missing-30-ton-shipment-of-explosive-chemicals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KQED</a> first reported last week that inquiries into the vanishing chemical shipment are being conducted by federal, state, and company officials. Union Pacific, the rail company that reported the chemical, told The New York Times that its inquiry is still in its &#8220;early stages&#8221; and does not suspect malicious or criminal activity.
News of the missing shipment has sparked a great deal of consternation on social media, with some people pointing out that only <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/what-ammonium-nitrate-chemical-deadly-beirut-explosion-n1236070" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two tons</a> of ammonium nitrate — a fraction of what the railcar had been carrying — was used in the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.
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Union Pacific spokesperson Kristen South suggested that people should not be concerned about health and environmental risks if the material spilled out of the train over a great distance.
“The fertilizer is designed for ground application and quick soil absorption,” South said. “If the loss resulted from a rail car leak over the course of transportation from origin to destination, the release should pose no risk to public health or the environment.”

Freight train

Shipment Of Explosive Chemical Mysteriously Disappears

California

Environment

Railroads

Wyoming

So-called &#8220;forever <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chemicals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chemicals</a>&#8221; in drinking water are contributing to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obesity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obesity</a> and making weight loss harder, a new study finds.
The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.23755" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, lead by Dr. Philippe Grandjean of the University of Rhode Island School of Pharmacy, found that increased concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, caused weight gain after an initial diet. The study noted that PFAS may have a larger role to play in weight loss struggles because of how ubiquitous they are in everyday life.
&#8220;Obesity has a multifactorial origin, and the impact of dietary constituents has been examined in several weight loss interventions,&#8221; the authors began. &#8220;[S]tudy results have shown substantial variability that may suggest an impact of other factors. In particular, the pathogenesis of obesity may be affected by exposure to certain environmental toxicants, such as the perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs). Experimental toxicology studies have supported this notion, as PFASs can alter energy metabolism, glucose control, and thyroid hormone homeostasis. Prospective studies have shown that elevated PFAS exposures are associated with weight gain and obesity development in children, as well as in adults.&#8221;
The study built upon data from previous weight loss studies in Europe. Researchers examined blood plasma samples from patients in that study, and found that higher concentrations of PFAS led to weight gains between 0.2 and 0.7 kilograms (about 0.5 to 1.5 pounds). The study also measured how individual pollutants contributed to weight gain: higher levels of the chemical perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) caused an average weight gain of 0.9 kg (about 2 pounds); higher levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) caused an average weight gain of nearly 1.5 kg (about 3.5 pounds).
The study cited previous research linking air pollutants and industrial chemicals to weight gain; PFAS are among the most persistent and active substances among them; they are widely present in the environment and consistently found in human blood. &#8220;The ubiquity of PFASs is linked to their extensive use in industrial and consumer products, including food packaging, paper and textile coatings, nonstick cookware, and fire-extinguishing foams,&#8221; the researchers noted. &#8220;Because of differences in sources and in toxicokinetic fate, PFAS exposures seem not to correlate well with other potential obesogens, thus making confounding less likely.&#8221;
&#8220;Our study adds new evidence that being overweight isn&#8217;t just about a lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits — PFAS are increasingly suspected to be a contributing factor,&#8221; Grandjean told <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-link-chemicals-weight-gain.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medicalxpress.com</a>. &#8220;The PFAS exposures in the European participants are quite comparable to levels in America, so my concern is that our exposures to PFAS are making it difficult for us to avoid getting overweight.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/experts-raise-alarm-on-harmful-chemicals-in-fertilizer-water-systems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PFAS</a> are getting renewed scrutiny after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dramatically <a href="https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2022/06/epa-toxic-forever-chemicals-levels-drinking-water-should-be-much">scaled back</a> the levels it considers acceptable in drinking water, leading to more awareness about how dangerous exposure to these compounds truly is.
“We’ve actually poisoned the world with them,” Andria Ventura, legislative and policy director at Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund, told The Daily Wire.
PFAS chemicals enter our bodies via the food we eat and the water we drink, then return to the environment through human waste, forming a potentially dangerous cycle of human and environmental contamination. One way they go back into the environment is through fertilizer made from sewage.
The chemicals have been linked to an array of cancers, hypertension, low birth rates, and issues with immunity, such as the ability of children to be helped by vaccines. The EPA recently decided they were so dangerous that it lowered the acceptable levels from 70 parts per trillion to as little as 0.004 parts per trillion, a drop of more than 99.9%.
Charlotte Pence Bond contributed to this report.

Obesity

‘Forever Chemicals’ Linked To Weight Gain, Making Dieting Harder, Study Finds

'Forever Chemicals' Linked To Weight Gain, Making Dieting Harder, Study Finds

Medical Research

Science

study

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/environmental-protection-agency-epa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EPA</a> Administrator Michael Regan announced on Friday that cleanup for the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ohio-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">train derailment</a> and subsequent <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/chemicals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chemical</a> fallout in East Palestine, Ohio, will take three months.
Local and state authorities previously evacuated all citizens within one mile of the February 3 derailment and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evacuation-ordered-ohio-governor-warns-major-explosion-could-send-shrapnel-a-mile-from-derailed-train" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> a controlled burn of chemicals on the vehicle. Vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen used to manufacture PVC, was emitted from five train cars in the form of massive plumes of black smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Regan <a href="https://twitter.com/EPAMichaelRegan/status/1636736359271477248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on social media that Norfolk Southern, the rail company at the center of the incident, has removed “nearly half” of contaminated soil from the tracks, as well as 6.8 million gallons of liquid waste and 5,400 tons of solid waste. He remarked during a press event that there has been “real progress” in the cleanup effort, but contended that Norfolk Southern “could be moving faster to remove contaminated soil from East Palestine,” according to a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/us/east-palestine-ohio-derailment-cleanup/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from CNN.
The EPA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-orders-norfolk-southern-to-handle-all-ohio-train-derailment-cleanup-pay-triple-if-they-cut-corners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> last month that Norfolk Southern must clean contaminated soil and water, reimburse the EPA for cleaning services provided to residents and businesses, and attend meetings to update residents on the cleanup process. The agency also vowed to “immediately step in, conduct the necessary work, and then seek to compel Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost” if the firm neglects to adequately complete enumerated cleanup actions.
The state of Ohio filed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/entirely-avoidable-ohio-sues-norfolk-southern-for-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> against Norfolk Southern in federal court earlier this week in an attempt to hold the firm financially liable for the disaster.
Regan added that some states were “inhibiting the company’s ability to execute contracts.” A number of officials, such as Governor Eric Holcomb (R-IN) and Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK), had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-orders-states-to-stop-blocking-toxic-waste-shipments-from-ohio-train-derailment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> to block the EPA from transporting shipments of chemical materials over hundreds of miles to their states, asserting that the waste should remain as close to the disaster site as possible.
“There are too many unanswered questions and ultimately I made the decision that this is not in the best interest of Oklahomans,” Stitt commented earlier this week. “As of late last night that shipment has been blocked.”
Regan nevertheless revealed on social media that he issued notices demanding that state authorities accept the shipments. “No one should impede or prevent this cleanup as we return East Palestine to the beautiful community residents know it to be,” he remarked. “The residents of East Palestine should expect that states, private companies, and the federal government will work together to effectuate the swift cleanup they deserve.”
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Even as Regan said that the cleanup process would take three more months, researchers from Texas A&amp;M University and Carnegie Mellon University found that nine chemicals present on the train have higher <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-residents-could-see-long-term-health-risks-from-highly-toxic-chemicals-analysis-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concentrations</a> than normal in the community’s air and water supplies, posing the risk of long-term health complications to residents. State and federal officials have repeatedly claimed that the air and water in East Palestine are safe for consumption.
The EPA more recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-requires-norfolk-southern-to-test-near-ohio-train-disaster-for-chemicals-which-impact-fertility-last-for-decades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that Norfolk Southern must test for dioxins, a type of pollutant that can be created by the combustion of vinyl chloride and may take decades to decompose. The substances attach to soil particles and have been known to enter drinking water supplies through waste incineration or discharges from chemical factories.
A team of journalists and producers from The Daily Wire who visited East Palestine last month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/my-eyes-sting-and-my-head-is-throbbing-daily-wire-team-details-experiences-at-ground-zero-of-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a lingering smell in the air, an oily chemical sheen in local creeks and rivers, and symptoms such as sore throats and headaches garnered by spending an extended period of time in the community. Citizens of East Palestine <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc1zFLHvrwI&amp;embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2F&amp;feature=emb_logo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the team that their livelihoods are threatened as customers from the region avoid their businesses and family farms.

East Palestine

EPA Announces How Long Ohio Train Derailment Cleanup Will Take

Cleanup Of East Palestine Will Take Three Months, EPA Says

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Ohio Train Disaster

Scandals

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/environmental-protection-agency-epa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EPA</a> Administrator Michael Regan ordered state authorities to stop blocking toxic <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/chemicals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chemical</a> shipments from the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in Ohio.
Local and state authorities previously evacuated all citizens within one mile of the February 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evacuation-ordered-ohio-governor-warns-major-explosion-could-send-shrapnel-a-mile-from-derailed-train" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> a controlled burn of chemicals on the vehicle to decrease the risk of an explosion. Vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen used to manufacture PVC, was emitted during the burn from five train cars in the form of massive plumes of black smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Officials from the EPA previously attempted to move the toxic waste to facilities throughout the nation, including a landfill in Roachdale, Indiana, and a waste management facility in Waynoka, Oklahoma, according to <a href="https://fox59.com/indiana-news/indiana-landfill-to-house-waste-shipments-from-toxic-ohio-train-derailment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local</a> media <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-stitt-toxic-waste-ohio-shipment/43283276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>. The former site is more than 400 miles away from East Palestine, while the latter is nearly 1,200 miles away from the rust belt community.
Governor Eric Holcomb (R-IN) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-wants-to-move-chemical-waste-from-ohio-train-crash-to-landfill-in-another-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last month he learned “third-hand” that toxic materials would be transported to his state and contended that they should be transported to “the nearest facilities, not moved from the far eastern side of Ohio to the far western side of Indiana.” Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK) likewise <a href="https://twitter.com/GovStitt/status/1635018210289549312" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Sunday that he had worked with lawmakers to prevent the material from coming to his state. “There are too many unanswered questions and ultimately I made the decision that this is not in the best interest of Oklahomans,” Stitt commented. “As of late last night that shipment has been blocked.”
Regan revealed on Friday that he issued notices demanding that state authorities accept the shipments. “No one should impede or prevent this cleanup as we return East Palestine to the beautiful community residents know it to be,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/EPAMichaelRegan/status/1636736359271477248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on social media. “The residents of East Palestine should expect that states, private companies, and the federal government will work together to effectuate the swift cleanup they deserve.”
Citizens of East Palestine have voiced frustration over the lack of transparency from government officials and executives from Norfolk Southern, especially with respect to the purported clean bill of health they granted the community’s air and water supplies. Many residents, as well as a team of journalists and producers from The Daily Wire who recently visited East Palestine, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/my-eyes-sting-and-my-head-is-throbbing-daily-wire-team-details-experiences-at-ground-zero-of-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> sore throats and various respiratory complications.
Analysts from Texas A&amp;M University and Carnegie Mellon University <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-residents-could-see-long-term-health-risks-from-highly-toxic-chemicals-analysis-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last month that nine chemicals the EPA said were present on the derailed train now have higher concentrations than normal in East Palestine. Texas A&amp;M Superfund Research Center Director Ivan Rusyn told The Daily Wire that environmental officials have not <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researcher-worries-government-is-wrongly-declaring-safety-near-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided</a> “the full context into which the actual data collected by them could be placed,” particularly with respect to the long-term health risks posed by exposure to some of the chemicals.
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The EPA has directed Norfolk Southern to sample for dioxins, particles invisible to the human eye which can attach to soil particles and last in an environment for decades. The substances are “highly toxic and can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, and can interfere with hormones,” according to a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dioxin/learn-about-dioxin#:~:text=Dioxins%20are%20called%20persistent%20organic,and%20can%20interfere%20with%20hormones." target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact sheet</a> from the EPA.

East Palestine Ohio – Train Derailment

EPA Orders States To Stop Blocking Toxic Waste Shipments From Ohio Train Derailment

EPA Tells States To Stop Blocking Toxic Waste From Ohio Train Derailment

The state of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ohio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ohio</a> filed a lawsuit against rail company Norfolk Southern in federal court on Tuesday over the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ohio-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">train derailment</a> in East Palestine and subsequent chemical fallout.
Residents of the small rust belt community continue to suffer weeks after the February 3 disaster. Local and state authorities previously evacuated all citizens within one mile of the derailment site and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evacuation-ordered-ohio-governor-warns-major-explosion-could-send-shrapnel-a-mile-from-derailed-train" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> a controlled burn of chemicals on the vehicle to decrease the risk of an explosion. The lawsuit, which <a href="https://ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Briefing-Room/News-Releases/2023-03-14-Norfolk-Southern-Complaint-FILED.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contended</a> that Norfolk Southern should be held financially liable for the derailment, characterized the incident as “entirely avoidable” and the result of executives neglecting the “welfare of the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates.”
“Ohio shouldn’t have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southern’s glaring negligence,” Attorney General Dave Yost (R-OH) said in a <a href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/March-2023/AG-Dave-Yost-Sues-Norfolk-Southern-Over-%E2%80%98Entirely" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there’s still so much we don’t know about the long-term effects on our air, water and soil.”
Vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen used to manufacture PVC, was emitted during the controlled burn from five train cars in the form of massive plumes of black smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Analysts from Texas A&amp;M University and Carnegie Mellon University <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-residents-could-see-long-term-health-risks-from-highly-toxic-chemicals-analysis-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that nine of the 50 chemicals the EPA said were present on the derailed train now have higher concentrations than normal in East Palestine, even after state and federal officials claimed that air and water supplies were safe.
The EPA has additionally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-requires-norfolk-southern-to-test-near-ohio-train-disaster-for-chemicals-which-impact-fertility-last-for-decades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directed</a> Norfolk Southern to sample for dioxins, a class of pollutants that can be formed by vinyl chloride combustion and can bind to soil particles for decades.
The lawsuit further noted that accident rates for Norfolk Southern have doubled over the past decade and involved at least 20 chemical releases since 2015. Officials therefore demanded reimbursement for all response costs “incurred and to be incurred” as a result of the disaster.
“The state of Ohio is the owner in trust of public lands, waters, and resources within its political boundaries and has a duty to protect and preserve those natural resources,” the lawsuit continued. “Ohio brings this action to redress the derailment and the resulting contamination of Ohio’s natural resources, which has caused significant damage and poses a significant ongoing threat to Ohio’s natural resources and the citizens of Ohio.”
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testified before Congress last week regarding the derailment, but made no specific promises regarding the firm’s commitment to handle economic and health fallout into the future. Another train <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-norfolk-southern-train-derails-as-ceo-testifies-to-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controlled</a> by Norfolk Southern derailed in Piedmont, Alabama, as Shaw delivered his testimony.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023, which would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senators-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-rail-safety-after-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">require</a> rail companies to report hazardous materials present on trains to state authorities, raise inspection requirements, and increase the rigor of defect detection efforts. The bill would meanwhile increase several civil penalties for violations of rail safety regulations tenfold and require that each train must operate with at least two-person crews.
Federal investigators have preliminarily <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-in-east-palestine-train-derailment-revealed-in-fresh-ntsb-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a> that the derailment was caused by a malfunctioning rail axle. “Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the NTSB said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investigators-provide-more-details-on-what-caused-ohio-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination.”

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