On February 3rd 2023, 38 train cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. 11 of those 38 cars carried hazardous materials. Nearby residents are fearful and furious with how this is being handled and this incident has been a serious start for much controversy. 

The train had derailed, releasing various chemicals into the environment and the nearby town is absolutely furious because they do not know what the chemicals were, how damaging it will be to them, how long it has taken to clean it up, and so many more reasons. One of the most infuriating topics to the nearby civilians is that this catastrophe was completely preventable and nobody is talking about it, including the president. President Biden has said that he is not getting involved because it is a privately owned business and it is their problem, which the people in the neighboring areas are not too happy about. Since nobody knows what specific chemicals were released into the environment, who knows what will happen to wildlife and the civilians’ health and how this chemical spill will impact everything and everybody around it. Another topic causing much anger is how the incident was not taken care of as quickly as it should have been. The trains were still on fire during the day on February 4th, and almost a month later the chemicals are still not completely cleaned up. Residents are angry that there is not enough attention taken to assist in the clean-up and investigating. 

Now a month later there has been another trail derailment of 20 train cars just miles away from the first derailment, and although no toxic chemicals were involved in this derailment, it made everything worse. The most recent derailment was a train by the same company from the toxic wreck just a month ago so people are wondering what is this company doing wrong and what do they need to do to stop it. 

Citizens of the towns it happened in and citizens all around the world are angry because this could affect how materials are getting across the country. This seemingly small incident could have way bigger consequences than expected. Hopefully we hear more about the cleanup of the chemicals and no more damage is done.