From Sacrifice Zone to Death Zone

Long before last month's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that area qualified as a sacrifice zone, but the environmental toxins unleashed by the train crash and subsequent burning of leaking chemicals has transformed it into a death zone.

Sacrifice zones are areas that face environmental and/or economic hardships because of exploitative industrial activity, pollution, and disinvestment. These areas typically face abandonment by political leaders as well. In such zones, death flourishes as physical and mental health and economic well-being deteriorate, and people find themselves cut off from resources that could help them.

Once supported by various manufacturing jobs, East Palestine's economic fortunes and population have declined for decades. These trends mirror those in other areas around the country and particularly in the Midwest, marking East Palestine as one of many sacrifice zones in the United States.

Yet the February train derailment put the town in another class entirely: East Palestine almost immediately became a death zone. Within weeks, more than 43,000 animals had died because of toxins from the crash. Now, a new report has revealed alarming levels of dioxin, a known carcinogen, in East Palestine's soil. Dioxin is a byproduct produced by the burning of vinyl chloride, one of the chemicals the derailed train was carrying. While cancer risk from dioxin is present at 3.7 parts per trillion (PPT), the soil tested after the East Palestine derailment showed 700 PPT. Amazingly, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will initiate a site cleanup only in response to results indicating dioxin levels of at least 1,000 PPT, which is 270 times the threshold the agency itself set for a cancer risk.

As it turns out, people with the power to help will abandon death zones just as readily as they abandon sacrifice zones.

A Black Cloud of Apathy

The black smoke rising high above East Palestine, Ohio, looked ominous enough, but the cloud hanging over what has happened there since a train derailed on February 3, spilling hazardous chemicals, has only grown darker as the lack of concern from the rail company and government officials becomes increasingly apparent.

When the chemicals were burned off shortly after the derailment, a towering cloud of black smoke formed over the area. Even from the safe distance of news reports, the scene looked horrific. Then, animals began dying and residents started reporting symptoms of illness. 

How anyone could watch what was unfolding without feeling the strongest concern and sense of urgency is difficult to comprehend. Yet neither the company (Norfolk Southern) nor the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seem very worried about the situation. Residents, who had been asked to leave prior to the burning of the chemicals, were soon told it was safe to return.

After people began complaining of illness, Norfolk Southern hired another company to conduct tests for contaminants. That test, which outside scientists found "flawed," reported "no contaminants." It would seem that the point of the test was to quiet the complaints rather than to find out what was happening. Meanwhile, the United States EPA has yet to conduct any of its own tests.

The apathetic responses to the harm caused by these chemicals have darkened the cloud into a gathering storm of fear and distrust among the residents of East Palestine. As the rest of the country watches aghast, it appears likely that storm will reach far beyond eastern Ohio.

Our Best Act

To say the Endangered Species Act (ESA) brings out the best in people would be an understatement.

On this date forty years ago, the ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Along with signing the Clean Water Act of 1972 and proposing the Environmental Protection Agency, signing the ESA was probably the best thing Nixon ever did with his presidency and his life.

Truth be told, the environmental oversight achieved during the Nixon years is probably the finest hour the entire human society has had in terms of its relationship with the environment. By responding to serious pollution threats and rapid declines in many species, the environmental movement of the 1970s put in place key standards for how we should act toward the environment.

Both the spirit of the ESA and the act itself will be needed as we move forward to address issues like global warming and other threats to ecosystems and species. We'll have to be at our best once again.

I Don't Know What Else to Say

I mentioned yesterday that Barack Obama has pulled his own EPA's proposed smog regulations.

This is an inexcusable, cowardly move, and here's a great explanation of why:



Matt Damon for president in 2012.

The Line it is Drawn

Today concluded two weeks of White House protests (I blogged about them last week), which were organized to oppose the proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline.

A total of 1,252 people were arrested (many more attended) in peaceful protests over the two weeks, and I would like to thank those individuals and say I support them with pride. Yesterday's decision by President Barack Obama to withdraw the Environmental Protection Agency's proposal for tighter smog regulation reemphasized the importance of the protest and the degree to which the president has set environmental issues to the side.

For information about Tar Sands Action, a group that has helped orchestrate the pipeline protests, click here.

You can watch a short video of the protests below:

A True Breath of Fresh Air

I grew up playing and watching sports. Anyone who knows me can attest to my rabid loyalty to National Football League legend Dan Marino. However, the luster of many pro sports, especially the NFL, has faded for me.

For the last decade at least, the NFL has garnered as much infamy as fame through its players. The story of Michael Vick's dogfighting ring nearly broke my heart, and it sickens me to know he is playing again.

Today, though, I found a nice story about an NFL player--in fact, a member of the Atlanta Falcons (the team Vick was playing for when his scandal broke).

Ovie Mughelli, a fullback for the Falcons, has teamed up with the Sierra Club on a campaign to encourage the Environmental Protection Agency to address the air pollution created coal ash.

After watching the ad, I decided to learn a little more about this athlete, and as it turns out, this isn't his only venture into helping the environment. Mughelli has started a football camp for underprivileged children, and part of the camp involves discussions about environmental issues.

It made me quite happy to learn about Mughelli's work. With him as one of its players, the NFL has at least one good story.