On Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. ET, the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) will hold a full committee hearing on addressing the environmental and public health threats from the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio.

In response, Moms Clean Air Force Director and Co-Founder Dominique Browning released the following statement:

“We commend Congress and the EPW committee for carrying out its oversight role and investigating the government response to the train derailment in East Palestine, but we must remember that petrochemical pollution is an ongoing threat. Families in East Palestine—and elsewhere—are regularly exposed to, and at risk of, dangerous chemicals entering the air they breathe and the water they drink.

“It’s important that we hear from the residents of these communities. Six women whose lives have been changed by petrochemical disasters will attend the hearing and will be available after the hearing to share their stories.

“The root cause of the derailment in East Palestine was not the Civil-War-era brakes, not the dangerous speeds, not the fact that we have 1.7-mile long trains with a crew of only two—though these things are important.

“The root cause of the disaster is our reckless production of plastics, which are made from extraordinarily toxic industrial chemicals, such as benzene, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, chloroprene, PFAS, and vinyl chloride.

“The petrochemical industry has gotten away with massive assaults on the health and wellbeing of generations of people on the Gulf Coast. The children of the Gulf Coast, where we tolerate a sacrifice zone cruelly referred to as “Cancer Alley,” are suffering from leukemia at far higher rates than anywhere else in the United States.

“In addition, there is a rapid expansion of the petrochemical industry buildout in the Ohio River Valley. Less than fifteen miles from the Palestine derailment, the Shell petrochemical facility in Beaver County, Pennsylvania has already exceeded its allowable pollution limits for the year–in its first one hundred days of operation.

“The damage that has been inflicted by the petrochemical industry is a disgrace to this country and to the agencies that are mandated by law to protect peoples’ health.

“Moms Clean Air Force calls on Congress to hold accountable the polluters and the companies that run “train bombs” through our neighborhoods.

“These companies should be paying the entire cost of cleanup,  and providing ongoing support and health care for those who have been exposed to their carcinogenic chemicals throughout their lives.

“Comprehensive testing of the soil, water and air along with medical monitoring is due to all East Palestine residents so they can feel safe in their own homes.

“Moms Clean Air Force calls on the EPA and the Department of Justice to crack down on the flagrant abuses of the petrochemical industry and to strengthen protections from petrochemical pollution.

“We call on President Biden to use the executive powers of his office to rein in plastics production pollution and to protect communities from petrochemical production, transport, and incineration.”

PA Mom’s Available For Comment

-- Rachel Meyer, the Moms Ohio River Valley organizer, lives about 20 miles from the site of the chemical disaster in East Palestine. Rachel’s home is also located a short distance from the Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, which spews large quantities of toxic pollution into the surrounding community. Despite only having come online in the fall of 2022, the plant has already exceeded its annual pollution allowances several times.

Rachel says: “The ongoing East Palestine petrochemical disaster adds to the multiple pollution burdens for families like mine living in nearby Beaver County, Pennsylvania. My home is surrounded by oil and gas operations and located only eight miles from the Shell petrochemical complex that has already had multiple malfunctions resulting in pollution releases.

“I’m very concerned about what my three year old daughter is breathing since children are especially vulnerable to air pollution. Our children deserve to breathe clean air and industry must be responsible for cleaning up their pollution while providing transparency for communities. I am urging our government to do everything it can to protect little lungs."

-- Vanessa Lynch lives in Southwestern Pennsylvania, about 50 miles away from the East Palestine chemical disaster and is on the front lines of the oil and gas industry. Living so close to this industrial pollution puts her family at greater risk for asthma, central nervous system toxicity, and cancer.

Vanessa says: “The East Palestine train derailment is a wake up call for all of us in the Ohio River Valley who are experiencing the rapid expansion of the petrochemical industry in our region.

“More petrochemical buildout increases the likelihood of future disasters along with the demand for additional fracked wells like the ones in my community that provide the chemical for making plastics at the Shell petrochemical facility in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

“Our government must rein in the toxic air pollution from the escalating buildout of the petrochemical industry with the strongest possible safeguards to protect the health of our families."

Resource Links:

-- Fact Sheet: Petrochemical Pollution And Our Health

-- Blog Post: Ohio Train Derailment Highlights Toxic Plastic Pollution

-- Q&A: Plastics And Petrochemicals

(Photos: Bottom: One of several Shell Petrochemical Plant dirty flaring events, Beaver County; Energy Transfer Natural Gas Cryo Natural Gas Liquids Day-Long Plant Fire Christmas Day, Washington County; Ohio/PA Train Derailment.)

Related Articles This Week - Train Derailment:

-- Pennsylvania State Actions Responding To Ohio/PA Train Derailment - Week Of March 6  [PaEN]

-- Norfolk Southern CEO To Appear March 20 Before PA Senate Committee To Answer Questions About Ohio/PA Train Derailment; Committee Subpoenas Documents [PaEN]

-- House Democratic & Republican Policy Committees Hold March 14 Joint Hearing On Impact Of Ohio/PA Train Derailment In Beaver County [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Announces Agreement With Norfolk Southern To Pay $7.38 Million In Initial Response Costs, Costs To Businesses, Residents From Train Derailment  [PaEN]

-- Dept. Of Health Extends Operation Of Health Resource Center In Beaver County For PA Residents Impacted By Ohio/PA Train Derailment  [PaEN]

-- DEP Reports No Signs Of Groundwater Contamination With First Results From Water Sampling Near Ohio/PA Train Derailment Site  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Bob Casey Testifies Before U.S. Senate Committee On Ohio/PA Train Derailment [PaEN]

-- Moms Clean Air Force: Impacted Parents From Ohio, PA Will Raise Concerns About Chemical Pollution From The Train Derailment, Petrochemical Industry In The Ohio Valley During U.S. Senate Hearing Today  [PaEN]

-- Ohio/PA Train Derailment, Pipeline Explosions, Uncontrolled Releases Put Spotlight On Public Health, Safety Threats Posed By Petrochemical, Natural Gas Industrial And Pipeline Infrastructure In PA  [PaEN]

[Posted: March 9, 2023]

3/13/2023