On Mr. Biden’s orders, teams from various US public agencies, such as those for disease control and prevention and the environment, will visit homes in the municipality to ask how residents are doing, see what they’re up to. need and put them in touch with the appropriate resources.
The US president did not specify the number of homes to be checked but asked employees to visit as many as possible by Monday. The US leader said he currently has no intention of going there personally.
Open investigation into derailment
The request comes as Republicans in the House of Representatives have opened an investigation into the Feb. 3 derailment.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has become the latest lawmaker to engage in what has become a political proxy war as each party clashes after the derailment and rejection of chemicals that led to the evacuation of the small community in Ohio.
Despite the responsibility of the United States Department of Transportation [DOT] to provide safe and reliable transportation within the United States, you have been oblivious to the disaster for more than a week
charged the Kentucky Republican in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
« The American people deserve answers as to the cause of the derailment. The DOT must provide an explanation for its leadership’s apathy in the face of this emergency. »
A preliminary report released Thursday by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said the Norfolk Southern freight train crew did not receive many warnings before dozens of cars ran off the tracks. Furthermore, there is no indication that the crew members made a mistake.
Mutual accusations of elected officials
Republicans cast the incident as a moral failing by the Biden administration, as Democrats point to rollbacks made by former President Donald Trump during his tenure that weakened rail and environmental regulations .
The letter from the oversight committee calls for documents and communications regarding when the leaders of the DOT learned of the derailment, demands to know if they were given public response advice, and asks for details on recent changes to agency train maintenance and procedures.
The day before the letter was published, Mr Buttigieg made his first visit to the crash site.
Learning lessons from the derailment
Norfolk Southern said the National Transportation Safety Board report showed the train’s heat detectors were working as intended and the crew were taking action. in compliance with company rules
.
Nevertheless, the company acknowledged that it should learn as much as possible from this event
as well as developing practices and investing in technology that could help prevent an incident like this in the future
.
Eleven of the cars on the train that derailed on the outskirts of East Palestine, near Pennsylvania, were carrying hazardous materials. Residents were evacuated as fears grew over a potential explosion.
Officials, seeking to avoid an uncontrolled explosion, released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five train cars, sending flames and black smoke into the sky. People then wondered about the possible effects on their health, even though authorities said they were doing their best to protect people.
This incident is an environmental and public health emergency that now threatens Americans outside the state
argued Mr. Comer and nearly two dozen Republicans in their letter to Mr. Buttigieg.
