The "poison train" derailed a year after it appeared, and Biden visited the town where the incident occurred.
Hu Ruoyu. Joseph Biden arrived in East Palestine, a small town in Ohio, on the 16th to inspect the scene of the "poison train" derailment accident in an attempt to reassure the local people. However, more than a year has passed since the accident, and many of the affected residents did not buy the belated visit. Along the way, demonstrations continued.
It's been a long time coming".
As soon as Biden's motorcade pulled into the town of East Palestine, it was met by demonstrators. Agence France-Presse reported that at least one demonstrator gave the middle finger to the motorcade, while others held placards criticizing **'s poor response to the accident.
According to the Associated Press, the damage caused by the accident to local residents can still be felt today. Some yelled at the convoy, and one placard even referred to Biden's eldest son, who died of illness.
Biden addressed the residents, acknowledging that the aftermath of the federal ** is not yet complete, and I hope everyone understands.
He praised federal, state and local** clean-up efforts, announced federal funding for studies on the short- and long-term effects of the accident, and singled out the rail operator, Norfolk Southern, for failing to follow safety rules, calling the derailment "a greedy move that could have been 100 percent avoided."
Mayor Trent Conaway is not a Biden supporter. He said residents had been "waiting a long time" for Biden's visit, arguing that the disaster should never have happened and that long-term health concerns and local economic growth needed to be confronted "to make sure it never happens in another neighborhood."
On the evening of Feb. 3 last year, a Norfolk Southern railroad train carrying dangerous goods derailed while passing through the town of East Palestine, derailing 11 of the 20 cars carrying dangerous goods, five of which had vinyl chloride. On the 6th of the same month, emergency personnel carried out a "controlled release" of the 5 tankers on the grounds of avoiding large-scale **. The spilled chemical produced billowing black smoke as it was burned and filled over the town of East Palestine. The air, soil and water were heavily polluted, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. To this day, the townspeople are still concerned about the potential health hazards of toxic chemicals.
Timing of the election].
The Associated Press noted that in his speech, Biden did not explain why it took more than a year to come to the inspection, nor did he mention how the collective harm suffered by local residents.
Biden has been blamed for visiting wildfires in Hawaii and hurricanes in Florida last year without scheduling a visit to East Palestine. According to the White House's explanation, Biden is waiting for the right time to travel to East Palestine, and Mayor Conaway invited Biden to visit earlier this year.
When Biden visited, dozens of residents sang "anti-the-table play" and rallied in support of Donald Trump, the former Republican member. Rally organizer Mike Young told The Associated Press that it was an "anti-Biden" grassroots event.
Here's how residents perceive it: You were in ** a year ago? Mike Young said, "Too little is done, too late." Now, Biden has made an appearance at election time. ”
Colombiana County, where the town of East Palestine is located, is one of the most pro-Republican places in Ohio, where Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in the last election, the 2020** election, AFP noted. In both the 2016 and 2020** elections, Trump took Ohio.
Ohio held a referendum last November to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. This outcome is in favor of the Democrats. Democrats intend to make abortion rights one of the main issues in November's elections, congressional re-elections and local elections, and see an opportunity to turn Ohio back into a "swing state."
Trump traveled to East Palestine shortly after last year's derailment to hand out bottled water to residents and accused Biden of "abandoning" local residents. Other Republicans similarly slammed Biden for being slow to respond to the accident. According to AFP, Republicans are trying to win over blue-collar voters who are crucial to this year.
Mark Happel, a construction worker who lives in the nearby city of East Liverpool, said he intended to vote for Trump. Residents of the area around the town of East Palestine, who were affected by toxic chemicals and smoke after the accident, were most concerned about their health, people coughing, lung discomfort, colds and ......(End) (Special article by Xinhua News Agency).
Keywords: East Palestine