East Palestine, OH Residents Grapple With Toxic Fallout

Nearly a month after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed near the village of East Palestine, Ohio, local residents are still contending with the fallout of the toxic chemicals that were spilled in the initial derailment, as well as those burned in an attempt to clean the area.

After the initial derailment on February 3, officials began evacuations within a 1-mile radius. Three days later on February 6, the vinyl chloride, a toxic, carcinogenic chemical used in the manufacture of PVC, was burned to prevent possible explosions. The evacuation order was lifted on February 9 after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials reported that the area was safe. However, local residents have reported health issues since that time, and numerous animal deaths have been documented, including thousands of fish and frogs.

Officials hosted a town hall for residents to ask questions. Representatives from Norfolk Southern were set to appear at the event, but the company pulled out at the last minute, citing what they perceived as safety issues.

Grocery chain Giant Eagle has pulled its branded water, which is bottled 25 miles away from the derailment site. Some high school teams have also forfeited games rather than play in the affected region, concerned about possible health effects from the released chemicals.

Some have criticized the state and federal response to the derailment and chemical contamination. While FEMA sent an assistance team, because there was technically no property damage to the residents of the area, it did not qualify as a “major disaster.”

 

US Energy Department: COVID Most Likely Caused by Lab Leak

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) released an updated report this past week on the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, with the department now saying that the pandemic was a result of a leak in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2019. The report says that it has made this judgment with ‘low confidence,’ which means it has low certainty in its claim.

It joins the FBI in federal agencies that believe that the virus escaped from the lab (the FBI has ‘moderate confidence’ in this belief). Four other agencies believe that the pandemic was the result of natural transmission.

China has criticized the DOE report, with Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning claiming that the US is using the lab leak theory to score political points, rather than seek a scientific conclusion. She cited the previous WHO investigation, which had concluded that the virus was likely the result of natural transmission. The WHO’s report has also been criticized, with China accused of obstructing the organization’s investigation.

Winter Storm Leads to Rare California Snow

 A strong winter storm led to snow across the state, along with high winds that took down power lines, causing over 170,000 power outages. Cars were stranded on I-15 because of snow, hail, and strong winds, with snowflakes and hail even reported at the famed Hollywood sign.

The storm caused severe weather across the US, with blizzard conditions reported in Midwestern states and tornado watches issued in several Southern states.

While the storm caused blizzard conditions in some of the country, some areas outside the storm’s path reported record high temperatures.