Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

‘The Poison Plastic’: Why Calls Are Growing for a Ban on PVC

A toxic train derailment in Ohio has forced an uncomfortable conversation in the US. The pollution and response to the accident was bad enough for local residents, but black and lower-income communities face the effects of America’s dirty plastic industry on a daily basis.

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Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

Former EPA Official Calls Agency’s Response in East Palestine Too Weak

After the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, officials decided to burn 100,000 gallons of highly toxic vinyl chloride, rather than risk a catastrophic explosion. While the company has absorbed much of the blame for what happened in East Palestine, many have criticized the response from government. That includes Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration, and head of the environmental group .

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Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

‘Wakeup Call’: Braintree Chemical Fire, Ohio Derailment Show Need for Stronger Emergency Planning, Experts Say

Government officials don’t pay enough attention to preventing accidents due to a lack of funding devoted to such efforts, said Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator now president of environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics. And communication around evacuation plans is an issue across the nation, she said. Almost 124 million people, or 39 percent of the US population, live within 3 miles of a hazardous facility, according to the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters.

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Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

EPA Drops the Ball in East Palestine

The people of East Palestine, Ohio were left in the dark about toxic chemical risks in the wake of the fiery train derailment, says Judith Enck, a former regional administrator of the EPA. Her commentary calls out the EPA’s delayed and weak response and urges the agency to take steps to regain the public’s trust.

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Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

East Palestine Toxic Train Crash Shows Plastics Industry Toll on Planet. Will U.S. Ban Vinyl Chloride?

Five weeks after the Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment and so-called controlled burn that blanketed the town with a toxic brew of at least six hazardous chemicals and gases, senators grilled the CEO of Norfolk Southern over the company’s toxic train derailment. The company has evaded calls to cover healthcare costs as residents continue to report headaches, coughing, fatigue, irritation and burning of the skin.

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Former EPA Regional Administrator Critical of Response to East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment
Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

Former EPA Regional Administrator Critical of Response to East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment

Allegations of missteps and mistakes in the federal EPA’s response to the East Palestine toxic train derailment are coming from someone who’s been in the agency’s top ranks. The criticism comes as mistrust and anger linger in and around the village. More than a month after a dark chemical plume billowed over East Palestine, there are signs of resilience. But there are also high demands for baseline medical tests and water many people want to trust to drink.

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Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

Why Is the E.P.A. So Timid in the East Palestine Train Disaster?

When a Norfolk Southern train carrying nearly 116,000 gallons of vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last month, local officials made a pivotal decision: to drain the highly toxic chemical into a ditch and set it on fire in a “controlled burn” to avoid a catastrophic explosion. Officials didn’t mention that the plume could rain dioxins and other enduring poisons down on the community and others downwind. And two days after the burn, residents in the one-by-two-mile evacuation zone were allowed back into their homes — before any testing for dioxins and other contaminants on the surfaces inside had been done.

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