>

I'm just thankful that so far, no mention of hydrofluoric acid has been mentioned
Burning vinyl chloride creates Phosgene gas. It’s heavier than air, so it fills basements, and valleys and trenches. It was used in WWI for trench warfare. Get out of the area. This stuff can kill. >

Crazy how 500 refused. >

Leave it to Americans to refuse to evacuate a fucking WWI gas attack on their suburb >

"OK well if you're not going to leave at least take these gas masks."
Did you say MASKS? >

Hate to say it, but this made me smile >

Not to be punny but, it’s like watching a train wreck.
Except I stopped feeling bad for watching, and I’m rooting for the train instead of the people. >

r/bitchimatrain >

I love Reddit for tiny communities like that, lol, what a sub. >

A glance at the title with “Gov. Mike DeWine”, “East Palestine”, and “deploys National Guard” had me real confused for a moment. >

Hah! I grew up around here. 
You could also visit East Liverpool, Calcutta, Lisbon, Poland, North Lima, Vienna, and Mecca within maybe an hour’s drive from East Palestine. 
As a kid, I remember being confused by some of those names. Also, if I recall, the “i” sound in Lima and Vienna sounds like “eye.” >

There's also a Paris, London, and Dublin in ohio. >

Just to the south~~east~~west of Dallas, Texas - and far enough for Dallas to be a weekend trip, rather than a quick stop into town at that - is Dublin, Texas.  It is remarkable in only two ways.  One is that it is one of the rare towns in Texas that doesn't feel as if it is navigating one of the tightest turns of a terminal decline that has lasted so long that no one living there remembers the supposed good old days.  The other is that they make and bottle Dr. Pepper.  Well, a variant of the stuff made with cane sugar rather than HFCS.
-Edit-
I've been informed that Dublin Doctor Pepper is no longer a thing and also reminded that left on the the average map is west rather than east.  That leaves me with only one other thing.  The first time I attended a Ren Faire, my wife and I got to talking with the purveyors of some costume shop or another, and after a congenial, meandering discussion, they told us that they'd be moving to Dublin.  This fact was allowed to stand while we processed the monumental move in store from them, and then they threw in that crucial additional detail that it was Dublin, Texas. >

Just to the Northeast of Dallas is Paris. Pretty sure there is a London somewhere. >

There is indeed a London.  I've passed through it a total of three times.  It is west of Austin, just north of I-10.  It is tiny.  I think the sign indicated it had a population under 200.  Passing through revealed a corner store, a stop sign, and...maybe a few houses?  All I can say is that repeating this line and then laughing about it took more time than crossing the entire village. >

Now that's an old frontier town!  
Seems there are some splitters though. >

This is your reminder that train companies want to reduce break periods between shifts, put all yard/engineer employees to an on-call only schedule, cut train crews from 2 to 1 person, and otherwise grind a labor force that is NOT "walk on jobs" into dust.
Oh, and has lobbied against infrastructure & capital investment requirements/upgrades for decades.
Trains are efficient, but they are not magic. They require a healthy, trained labor force and well-maintained equipment. Without those two, incidents like this are even more frequent than they already are. >

And that the federal government stepped in to prevent a strike that was attempting to address some of this insanity. >

They were right to prevent a strike; the railway unions are in a unique position that a strike would crush the entire economy. Congress was wrong in implementing a solution that didn't give significant concessions to the workers. >


They were right to prevent a strike; the railway unions are in a unique position that a strike would crush the entire economy.

Fuck it.  
Maybe that's what we need.  
Show the country what it really means to be an essential worker, and how fucked these people that keep our country are running.  
Maybe at that point, if we all go down with it, people will start to wake up and make change.  Nothing but an extreme measure will cause people to stop supporting these big companies and the scummy shit they do. >

The only people who say shit like this are the types that don’t understand what “crash the entire economy” actually means. >

If these people could crash the entire economy, maybe they should be treated better? So I still think they should strike. Give them four weeks time to find a solution and a strike date right afterwards. Let them find out who actually supports the country. I do not see stock brokers going on strike being a threat to anyone. >

Democrats tried to treat them better. Gave a nice, easy win for everyone. Not too big, not too small. Set it right there for the Republicans.
42 Senate Republicans (and Manchin) refused, and almost the entire Republican side of the House. And those 42 are enough to make it impossible. >

But again, this wasn't something congress had to step in about. This was a dispute between a corporation and their workers, the workers were legally unionized, and could legally strike. 
Congress should have been hands-off, and if asked, should have said they supported the workers, and urged the rail corporations to deal in good faith. >

Let me list all potential options here.
Option 1: hands off. Result: Death and economic devastation. The rail owners are 100% willing to sacrifice the country to keep their power. Railways shut down. Coal doesn't get delivered. Water treatment supplies don't get delivered. Food doesn't get delivered. Chaos ensues as people die. Democrats get blamed for not stepping in. Public support for the strike craters in a matter of days. It's not long before they're back at the negotiating table with an even weaker position. The owners, who have enough stored wealth to not give a fuck about the economic disruptions, keep on keeping on. Long term result: Republicans take full power next election, no one wins, fascism rises.
Option 2: Put forth only one bill demanding both the end of the strike and the sick day amendment in one package. It fails. See strike results above.
Option 3: Only the strikebreak bill is voted on, no sick day amendment. Serious possibility of striking anyway, legal or not. Either way, Dems get blamed and lose power next election, with the added potential for all the worst parts of option 1.
Option 4: See reality. Main bill plus amendment. Republicans voted against amendment, but supported strike break. No strike. A clear indication that Republicans were the ones causing the issue. No economic catastrophe. But it doesn't look good.
Take your pick. Of those available, I'll take option 4. >

You didn't finish option 4. Destroying Union Power means more power for oligarchs and a quicker rise to fascism. 
The only way this would have worked is option 1, and strong messaging that rail companies are to blame. >

They're playing it off that you should leave due to the chance of an explosion. It's pretty obvious they're evacuating because of toxic fumes but don't want to say that.. >

Yep. It's fairly standard for them to first say that it's because of fear of one or more explosions. They don't start admitting to the fumes until later, and usually as news spreads or a lot of people continue to refuse to leave. >

Remember folks, the US railroad system is run by executives who don’t think employees contribute to the bottom line. 
I guarantee you there’s not one C-suite member or shareholder risking their ass out there each day under cost-cutting measures and safety shortcuts. >

But hey, they posted record profits immediately after congress forced the workers to stop striking.
Think of how happy the people profiting off of this are, don't be selfish. >

Just wait for the proletarian revolt >

Why wait when you can actively organize or sabotage your work place today? >

It needs to be coordinated or it will get squashed in isolated pockets. I predict it will happen once the fascists take over and people protest, leading to police massacres and more public outrage escalating to something like we’re seeing in Iran. >

I completely agree that the more people willing to simultaneously act, the less likely capital can retaliate without suffering unsustainable losses to their own profits. 
However, I also think that perpetually waiting for “the moment” is part of how we’ve become so inured to continuing labor abuse. Spontaneous worker right activity does eventually snowball into movements, as we’ve seen with Starbucks and Amazon, and while everyone’s own case is unique, I’m hopeful that real labor movements that include the majority of middle and lower class occupations is close if we advocate for it. >

I went through a town evacuation after a train derailment a few years ago because of toxic fumes. I lived in an apartment with two levels and two doors in the same building as a business. 
The landlord refused to put a number for the apartment on the door downstairs. That said, I was later told that emergency services was required to knock on every door and they failed miserably. They admitted that they only knocked on the doors for the business. 
The only reason I knew to evacuate was because an elderly friend at the time who insisted that we communicate via FB sent me a message asking if I was okay. It was such a mess. The company paid everyone in town money afterward, but it took a long time for them to fix the land where the damage was done. 
And, yeah, there were people who absolutely refused to leave their homes. They feared their pets or farm animals, rural area, would die without them. They feared someone would steal their property. The gas was toxic. I'm glad to see that Ohio police are willing to arrest parents who refuse with children in the home.
Edit: The derailment was from negligence. >

There’s a farm not far from the area (I’m sure there are more but see this one every time I go to the area. There’s always horses in the field). >

Well that article sounds scary af. Hope everyone gets out safely. >

Isn’t that a component of phosgene gas >

Eh. Thermal decomposition can ultimately result in phosgene formation, but it’s not really a significant byproduct compared to hydrogen chloride and CO, neither of which are likely to spontaneously react to form phosgene without some sort of catalyst. >

Thanks for the explanation. I was an English major and only have vague recollections of all things sciencey >

I watched a crazy documentary about a train crash that was carrying the same gas. It does not look fun. Animals and people were dying and couldn’t be saved. If people saw this doc they would get the F out of dodge >

The movie/book white noise irl >

They’re calling it the airborne toxic event >

The radio calls it a feathery plume, but it's not. >

This happened close enough to me that I stood on the porch and watched the sky burn. >

Thank God the President and Congress decided to make it illegal for rail employees to strike for better working conditions. >

I bet the operators are held responsible for falling asleep never mind if they were working 80 hour weeks on mandatory OT. >

I've seen a video of the train before it derailed and it looked like one of the railcars had a wheel locked up and was on fire before the crash, leading me to think that it was an equipment malfunction/failure. I live a couple miles away and trains are always flying through that town at 40/50 mph. >

One of those, what on earth is a us governor doing with national guard in Palestine.... Oh... >

Yes, I was very confused for several seconds. >

This is one of my biggest fears, love my small town but we have three rails that converge and split into and out of our town. Less than a thousand feet from where I am at this moment no less. >

Sounds like where i grew up. I lived across from what i assume is a metal loading plant because I have no idea what else they do, but trains regularly stopped on one of the three sets of tracks leading out of town to load metal. If we had something like this happen there the whole town would basically be bottle necking the one exit to the countryside to leave >

Wow train disaster after the railroads bullied workers to work longer with no breaks? Thanks US government for shitting on our rail lines since Nixon. Sounds really secure and smart. /s >

All submissions must match the exact title from the source article, which this one does. >

Plus, it's a local source... you'd assume locations mentioned are relative to local unless specified otherwise or by context >

An airborne toxic event in Ohio? >

I saw them play a few years ago at the Newport in Columbus >


local officials say that more than 500 people have declined to leave their homes"

boy the world is full of idiots >

It's not always full of idiots, read up about the Weyauwega derailment. The town's residents forced the activation of National Guard APCs to take them back in so they could rescue their pets.  Or they were going to go back in in their own vehicles. >

This. Some people forget their meds too and can't get them easily anywhere else. I dealt with a derailment/evacuation before. People did lose pets to dehydration, starvation and toxic fumes. >

And yet, it’s amazing how in 2023 a lot of people in the US do not have Go bags / Bug out bags containing items that are essential for living away from home for about a week. >

Besides the fact that most people think stuff like disasters and evacuations won't ever happen to them. I can kind of understand a bit here, not saying it's right, but I get it. It's eastern Ohio here, we're not talking Florida or California or areas that are prone to disaster and evacuation scenarios besides maybe the occasional weak tornado. >


Besides the fact that most people think stuff like disasters and evacuations won't ever happen to them.

A house fire can literally happen to anyone >

Don't worry, these people will get a $46 class action settlement in 7 years. >

Suddenly feeling real great about the train line that practically runs through my backyard... maybe good incentive to at least think about making up a go bag. >

Same thing happened in the Canadian prairies a few years ago. Someone parked the train where they shouldn't have (iirc because they had already been running over their time limit), didn't engage the parking break, train full of oil cars rolled downhill into a town and destroyed everything. >

Correction, that accident was in Quebec, near the Maine border. >

Weird... the French name should have clued me in. Not sure why I always pictured it in the prairies. If it had been in Sask, it wouldn't have rolled anywhere lol >

I’ll give you partial credit, pretty sure the train was traveling from Alberta. >

Wasn’t this the beginning of some zombie movie? >

Damn.  I do not have "Actual Zombies" on my 2024 Disaster bingo card.  Suddenly feels like a gross oversight. >

Good thing the railroad companies won’t have to pay out a dime on this. Your taxes will pay for all the cleanup and distribution to the community. >

Action by employees to address the conditions which cause incidents like this was forbidden by the Federal government. >

Does anyone know what’s in the cars?  I’m doubting that shrapnel is the biggest issue if they blow? >

This particular car is full of vinyl chloride, one of the most toxic chemicals that can be moved via rail line. Awful stuff, and very dangerous. >

Thanks for the info. >

TIL that there exist a town in Ohio named East Palestine. >

wait.. there's a place in America named Palestine, in Ohio?   huh. well i'll be. >

Near Palestine we have Paris, Vienna, Berlin Center, Calcutta, Mecca, and Damascus. 
You can travel much of the world here in eastern Ohio. >

Dont forget about Poland and East Liverpool >

Tries to watch video about emergency evacuation, 15 second ad pops up. I guess I'll never know. >

Good thing we got extra N95s kickin around >

That’s was actually a company from the US. >

Mmmmm the smell of unregulated capitalism... Take it in boys and savor it. >

Train derailments could never happen under socialism, right? >

As captailism heavily leans towards deregulation, especially in the US where the rich and companies have captured the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; yes something like this is much more likely then in a socialist system wherein you have a balance of government for the people with oversight and regulation to reign in the capitalists. >

That title made zero sense to me at first >

Cheers to our "progressive" politicians like AOC for voting to bust the rail strike. >

That headline is confusing. I immediately thought what the hell is a US Governor telling people to get out of Palestine? Does he have that much influence on Middle Eastern politics? When did the National Guard go into Palestine? >

If all redditors just voted where they are, there'd be no Republicans. Which is very positive for the future but seems off for now. >

Sort of reminds me of Boston Township/Peninsula, Ohio... AKA Hell Town. >

Super ironic that the village slogan is “The Place You want to be” source >

What tyranny is THIS???
I REFUSE TO COMPLY!! >

Officials; if you live within a mile you should evacuate there is a chance that containers could explode and contain hazardous materials. 500 people, nah bro I’m good… >

I’m from youngstown. My mom is visiting my brother who lives in East Palestine. They left and got up to Struthers. >

I live in Fairborn ( in front of the Air force base ) and there are tracks all over the area. I wonder what Daddy DeWine would do if this happened down here…… >

Damn, grew up in neighboring Columbiana. Mom still lives there. Crazy to see and hope they can contain it >

Sounds suspiciously like the plot of Super 8. There is definitely a creature going crazy there for them  to deploy the national guard. >

I don't know the cause of the derailment, I'm from the area and have to point out that most of the tracks look like shit.   Many are starting to get overgrown, and some have ties in need of replacement.  I wouldn't be surprised if this happened due to poor track conditions. >

The best guess is an axle failure from one of the cars. An early warning detection system got tripped and initiated an emergency braking procedure shortly before the cars derailed. >

That sounds correct, I live a couple miles away and saw a video pre-derailment and one of the railcars wheels was locked up and already on fire. After a couple miles of that I'm sure the heat from friction would destroy any structural integrity of the wheels. >

One would think they would have learned from the lac megantic tragedy.