Free Republic

The residents of East Palestine, Ohio, have more than enough to worry about. A train wreck with black fumes of burning chemicals pouring from a tank is frightening enough. The absolute last thing they need is the news media spreading even scarier—but inaccurate—information about the accident. Yet for weeks, that is precisely what's been going on. Vinyl chloride, a chemical long used to make PVC plastics, is being portrayed as something more suitable for capital punishment than for a routine manufacturing process in a factory. Ohioans, like the rest of the country, are being bombarded by horrifying claims about its...

Why did the CDC update its page for vinyl chloride nearly two weeks before the Ohio train derailment? The CDC edited its profile for vinyl chloride just recently, removing a section on how the chemical affects children. On February 3, a Norfolk Southern Railroad train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, emitting toxic clouds into the air and water supplies. The Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the water "safe to drink" – despite the existing reports of wildlife dying in the affected area. Now it seems even the CDC is minimizing the effects of the chemicals involved in the crash, one...

Biden Administration Rejects Ohio’s Request for Emergency Aid to Deal with Ecological DisasterThe Biden administration is rejecting a request for federal disaster assistance from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in the aftermath of the train derailment and ecological disaster that has devastated the area around East Palestine, Ohio. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Ohio’s state government that it was not eligible for disaster assistance, a spokesperson for DeWine told Fox News Digital on Thursday. The Dewine spokeseman explained that FEMA believed the incident qualified as a traditional disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane, for which it usually provides...

One of the biggest environmental headaches is vinyl chloride, a toxic compound which can seep into water tables from chemical plants or industrial users. Cancer-causing and fertility-damaging, this organic chloride is the main ingredient in everyday PVC products such as plastic furniture, car upholstery, pipes and insulation for electrical cables. Chemical firms around the world are under pressure from authorities to tackle aquifer pollution from this highly useful but dangerous substance. But the process, sometimes entailing the removal of contaminated soil where there are major spills, is long, expensive, sometimes impracticable and often likely to inflict environmental damage. Now, say...