On Jan. 28, 16 train cars derailed near Keatchie, Louisiana. Two cars spilled toxic propinoic acid and acetic anhydride, forcing 130 people to be evacuated. On Feb. 13, 21 train cars derailed in a deadly collision with an 18-wheeler near Splendora, Texas. Then, on Feb. 16, a Norfolk Southern train accident occurred outside Detroit’s Van Buren Township, where at least seven cars derailed, one of which was carrying toxic materials.
Although serious, these incidents were minor when compared with the release and intentional burn of 1 million pounds of toxic vinyl chloride aboard a 50-car Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3.
The transport of hazardous materials aboard trucks and trains in the U.S. happens every day. Already in 2023, more than a dozen trains have derailed across the country, according to Newsweek. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that there were 54,539 train derailments from 1990-2021, an average of 1,704 per year.
These accidents injured 5,547 people and killed another 131. While the environmental impact to water and air has been difficult to determine, the powerful rail industry has spent nearly $800 million since 1998 to lobby the government that is supposed to regulate it.
As for Norfolk Southern’s bottom line, the company raked in record revenue of $12.7 billion in 2022, a 14% increase from the previous year. This after it accounted for over half the hazmat damages involving rail traffic over the same period. Yet while EPA Administrator Michael Regan traveled to East Palestine and announced that his agency is ordering Norfolk Southern to clean up the mess there, why did it take DOT head “Pothole Pete” Buttigieg three weeks to get there?
Prior to being selected by Joe Biden to head up the agency, wunderkind Buttigieg was best known for running South Bend, Indiana, into the ground as its mayor. And in his two years as part of the cabinet, he has displayed a similarly high degree of incompetence.
Few have spoken about East Palestine’s future, as immediate concern has centered on the present. This has included massive flames and smoke, dismal air quality, contaminated water, dead wildlife, sickened pets, evacuations and health symptoms too numerous to mention, but Buttigieg responded by assigning blame to Donald Trump.
Shortly after the derailment, Pete made jokes about Chinese spy balloons at the National Association of Counties’ Legislative Conference and whined about too many white construction workers. These instances are consistent with his other priorities, which have included a plan to “decarbonize America’s transportation sector,” eliminate all traffic deaths, supporting subsidies for electric cars and incessantly complaining about racist roadways.
Stumbling, bumbling Pete has seemingly bungled everything he’s touched, from supply-chain issues at western shipping ports to the mass cancellation of airline flights and the breakdown of the FAA’s NOTAM flight operation system.
At least he made time to step away from work for a two-month parental leave after he and his husband adopted twins, toured the Detroit Auto Show instead of helping to avert a national strike by freight-rail operators and found time for a much-needed week-long trip to Portugal.
That’s the problem, poor Pete is always somewhere else when things go wrong. He promises to make things better, then while average Americans have suffered at chaotic airports ever since COVID-19, he’s flown multiple times on a taxpayer-funded private jet.
Buttigieg is a pure elitist, lacking the qualifications for a job he got simply because he fit the LGBTQ profile, who couldn’t fix potholes any better than he can run America’s transportation system. He also lacked the political instincts to get to East Palestine ahead of a former president who can actually connect with average people in pain.
Yet Buttigieg wants to be president and knew he could capitalize on Joe Biden being in Europe to capture a solo photo op at a disaster site in Ohio. Like Pete said, he’d travel to East Palestine when “the time was right.”
Mark Figley is a political activist and guest columnist from Elida. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
