[Current Affairs Observation] Toxic Trains Expose "Toxic Politics"

  It has been nearly a month since the derailment of the "poison train" in the United States, and the pollution and damage caused by toxic substances have gradually emerged.

However, in the face of this crisis, the two parties in the United States once again set off a new round of mutual attacks, which the American media called "toxic politics."

Some analysts pointed out that partisanship will not only weaken the credibility of the government, but also make it difficult to solve related problems.

  On February 3, local time, in East Palestine, Ohio, a freight train of the Norfolk Southern Railway Company derailed, causing a large amount of toxic substances such as vinyl chloride to enter the air, water and soil, triggering an environmental crisis.

  According to US media reports on February 25, residents near the accident site have been diagnosed with bronchitis and other diseases, and some people have symptoms such as headaches, nausea and rashes.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that these illnesses may be related to exposure to chemicals.

The researchers also found elevated concentrations of a variety of chemicals near the scene of the accident, some of which can cause cancer or are suspected of causing cancer.

  Prior to that, Ohio officials said the derailment killed nearly 44,000 animals, including fish, amphibians and invertebrates.

  Regarding the treatment of pollutants, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement on February 25 saying that it had taken over the waste treatment business of the Norfolk Southern Railway Company.

The contaminated soil will be sent to an ecological landfill near Detroit, and about 7.57 million liters of sewage will be transported to a deep well injection facility.

As cleanup continues, waste is expected to continue to increase.

  Seeing the disastrous consequences of the "poison train" accident becoming more and more obvious, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party of the United States are still busy blaming each other.

  U.S. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, a Democrat, only spoke out for the first time 10 days after the accident, accusing former President Trump of repealing Obama-era rail safety regulations and taking responsibility for the accident.

On February 23, Buttigieg visited the scene of the accident and once again pointed the finger at Trump.

  Republicans, however, accused Buttigieg of wearing formal attire and leather shoes during his visit.

Many Republican lawmakers believed that Buttigieg should have gone to the scene of the accident earlier, and some lawmakers demanded that Buttigieg resign.

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee launched an investigation into the derailment accident on the 24th and asked Buttigieg to submit relevant documents dealing with the accident.

  Trump personally visited the town of East Palestine on February 22, criticizing the Biden administration for "indifference" and "betrayal."

In the 2020 presidential election, Trump won 72% of the vote in the county where the town of East Palestine belongs.

Republicans and East Palestine town officials also criticized Biden for his delay in visiting the local area, but instead made a surprise visit to Ukraine and added large sums of military aid.

  In the face of Republican attacks, the White House issued a statement on the 22nd, asking Trump and congressional Republicans to apologize to the residents of East Palestine because they "sold out East Palestine to the railway industry lobbyists."

Biden defended himself on the 24th, saying that federal officials arrived at the scene a few hours after the accident.

He also said he had no plans to go to the scene of the accident.

  This round of mutual accusations between the two parties has attracted the attention of the US media.

Some American media said, "Whenever disaster befalls a divided America, toxic politics will follow."

Homendy, chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board, also asked: "Why did this incident become so politicized?"

  In the eyes of analysts, the quarrel between the two parties over the derailment accident is just the latest manifestation of intensified partisanship and political polarization in the United States in recent years.

On many social issues such as gun control, abortion, and immigration, the two parties have long been at odds with each other.

The propaganda and battles between the two parties not only tore apart American society, but also made it difficult to effectively solve the above-mentioned problems.

  In this derailment accident, the two Democrats, Buttigieg and Biden, "throw the blame" on Trump, but after all, it is the Biden administration that is in power now, and the government and relevant departments failed to disclose relevant information in a timely manner. make the local people feel dissatisfied.

"If the air and water are safe, why do people get sick?" This is the question of the local people.

The US media pointed out that the public's distrust of local, state and federal leaders is growing.

  Partisanship may also affect the investigation of the accident.

The US National Transportation Safety Board released an accident investigation report on the 23rd, and the report did not give the cause of the accident.

The committee's chairman, Homendy, said the final report on the accident could take 18 months to come out.

  Before that, the extent of the pollution in East Palestine, how the local people will live in the future, and whether the contaminated soil and water will cause new pollution during the transfer process and the treatment site are still to be resolved. question.

If the slow response and buck-passing continues, there may be more victims.

  In the long run, derailment accidents are not an accident.

Statistics show that in 2022, there will be 1,049 train derailment accidents in the United States, and Norfolk Southern Railway Company will have 770 accidents in carriages carrying dangerous goods.

The U.S. media has long noticed that U.S. infrastructure construction has long been underfunded, while military spending has been increasing year by year.

The two parties quarreled endlessly on some issues that attracted attention, but ignored those issues that really mattered to the vital interests of the people.

(Bi Zhenshan, Workers' Daily)