BEWARE OF FREIGHT TRAINS.

A Norfolk Southern freight train loaded with all sorts of chemicals derailed and burned at East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, on the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line that also hosts Amtrak's Capitol Limited east of Alliance, Ohio.  The derailment, fire, evacuation, and aftermath have become a predictable political football.

Before the evacuation order was lifted on the evening of February 8, these three networks fell just shy of a combined 30 minutes on the topic. CBS led the pack with 593 seconds (9 min, 53 sec) of airtime, followed by ABC with 571 seconds (9 min, 31 sec) and NBC with 532 seconds (8 min, 52 sec).

However, once East Palestine residents were permitted to return home, the media’s interest in the story evaporated. ABC stopped covering it entirely. NBC gave the story just 38 additional seconds, and CBS was the only network to offer more than a minute of coverage (64 seconds) after the morning of February 8.

This sharp contrast in the data tells the story of an incurious media who were too eager to declare the issue resolved. Rather than healthy skepticism, reporters approached statements by Norfolk Southern and the Ohio EPA – both of whom had a blatant incentive to downplay the seriousness of the situation – with slavish credulity.

Perhaps this explains why they haven’t gone back to the story: because they abandoned it too early before asking any meaningful questions. For the broadcast networks to revisit East Palestine now would be to admit that their prior abandonment of it was an error born out of laziness and a lack of curiosity.

Unfortunately for East Palestine, their demographics and location in a red-tilting state like Ohio make them a wholly unappetizing topic for the corporate liberal media.

There is emerging bipartisan agreement that transportation secretary Pete "What, me worry?" Buttigieg is out of his depth.  From the left come calls for, predictably, more administrative state rulemaking.  "Progressives are demanding that U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg improve rail safety regulations in response to the unfolding public health disaster in East Palestine, Ohio—the site of a recent fiery train crash and subsequent 'controlled release' of toxic fumes that critics say was entirely avoidable."  From the right comes slagging on the secretary for seeming to worry more about the multicultural makeup of construction workers than noting the crumbled infrastructure.  (Never mind that the railroads maintain the freight mains out of their own funds.)  In some cases, there is agreement across political lines, with Erin Brockovich being quoted in that Common Dreams roundup, and also appearing with Geraldo Rivera on Fox News Channel's morning report.

It is, however, the surprise observers are exhibiting at the cargo on that train that interests me.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine took to the podium on Tuesday to update reporters and citizens about the devastating train derailment in E. Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. The small town has been reeling in the wake of the derailment and subsequent controlled burn of dangerous chemicals days after the wreck.

One of the most astounding revelations from the press conference (watch below) was that the train was not classified as carrying hazardous chemicals.

“I learned today from the PUCO [Public Utilities Council of Ohio] that this train was not considered a high hazardous material train,” DeWine said. As a result, the railroad was not required to notify anyone in Ohio about what the train was carrying.

“Even though some rail cars did have hazardous material on board, and while most of them did not, that’s why it was not categorized as a high hazardous material train,” said DeWine. “Frankly, if this is true, and I’m told it’s true, this is absurd. And we need to look at this. And Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled. We should know when we are trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio.” The governor called on Congress to investigate the matter and make changes to the law if necessary.

DeWine noted that around 50 railroad cars were involved in the crash; ten of those were hauling hazardous materials. He said that both the U.S. and Ohio EPA were on the scene almost immediately to slow the flow of contaminated water while firefighters worked to put out the fire. Two days later, “concerns began to arise in regard to the temperature in one of the cars,” which was described to him as “volatile.” He immediately activated the National Guard.

What was on that train?

According to a list of the chemicals released by the EPA, five of the cars contained vinyl chloride, a carcinogen; one car contained ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, a highly combustible liquid; one car contained isobutylene, a flammable gas, one car contained ethylhexyl acrylate, a combustible liquid; one care contained butyl acrylates, a highly flammable clear liquid, and two cars contained benzene, another highly flammable chemical.

That has East Palestine residents and their neighbors worried.

Reports have been emerging about animals becoming ill and dying in the wake of the derailment and a controlled release of hazardous materials to prevent a potential explosion.

One woman said her chickens died after a controlled burn of chemicals took place.

News reports said resident of East Palestine have reported a strong odor remaining in their community and experiencing a burning sensation in their eyes.

Several residents have filed lawsuits against NS in the days following the derailment alleging negligence on the part of the Class 1 railroad.

Some of the plaintiffs are seeking a court-supervised medical screenings for anyone within a 30-mile radius of the derailment for serious illnesses that may be caused by exposure to those chemicals.

Environmental officials have said the air quality in East Palestine is safe as is the town’s drinking water.

Famous last words?

But is the manifest of that train so out of the ordinary?  Probably not.  Pay attention, dear reader, the next time you are stuck at the level crossing.  Tank cars carry placards, and each of those has a specific (and internationally understood) meaning.  Modellers of modern image freight trains add realism to their models by using the right placards.  In addition, if you're close enough to the train, you might see stencils on the tank noting what the car ordinarily carries.  There's some truly scary stuff in those tanks, and you wouldn't want to use any old available empty tank car for your next load: think putting bleach in a car that previously hauled anhydrous ammonia.

Now think: would you rather that stuff be hauled in tank trailers, with possibly overstressed truckers playing ducks and drakes with motorists who might not be licensed, who might have had too much to drink, who are road-ragey commuters, or who are vacationers now frazzled from all those construction zones, on roads that are sometimes in a worse state of repair than those tracks?  It seems like there's a semi crash involving a fire somewhere on a Milwaukee or Chicago expressway almost every day.  It's transportation business the railroads might not want, but do you want more of that stuff on the roads, even if you understand what the placards are telling you is just one distracted driver away from something bad?

And: lost in the shuffle has been the cancellation, for a week, of the Capitol Limited between Chicago and Washington.  Has it gotten to where a day with full operation of all the trains in Amtrak's national network is newsworthy?