Planes and Boats and Trains. Wrecks!

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... ps-burning

[tek]

Not a wreck, but a very near disaster

Austin, TX Loss of Separation 4 Feb 2023

[AndyinPA]

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/live ... acuations/

Officials monitoring the crash site urgently warned hundreds of nearby residents who had declined to evacuate to do so Sunday night, saying a rail car was at risk of a potential explosion that could launch deadly shrapnel as far as a mile.

Officials warned of "the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure" after a "drastic temperature change" was observed in that rail car, according to a statement from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office that said teams were working to prevent an explosion at the scene in East Palestine. It didn't specify what was in that car or whether it was among those that had been carrying hazardous materials.

Authorities urged anyone within a one-mile radius of the site to leave immediately. Many had, but local officials indicated more than 500 residents had declined to leave, the statement said.

The evacuations extended into nearby areas across the board in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/live ... acuations/

This is about fifty miles from us.

[somerset]

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/live ... acuations/

Officials monitoring the crash site urgently warned hundreds of nearby residents who had declined to evacuate to do so Sunday night, saying a rail car was at risk of a potential explosion that could launch deadly shrapnel as far as a mile.

Officials warned of "the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure" after a "drastic temperature change" was observed in that rail car, according to a statement from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office that said teams were working to prevent an explosion at the scene in East Palestine. It didn't specify what was in that car or whether it was among those that had been carrying hazardous materials.

Authorities urged anyone within a one-mile radius of the site to leave immediately. Many had, but local officials indicated more than 500 residents had declined to leave, the statement said.

The evacuations extended into nearby areas across the board in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/live ... acuations/

This is about fifty miles from us.

What's in those tanks?

[tek]

IIRC lots of them are vinyl chloride.

[AndyinPA]

They are going to start a controlled release of the vinyl chloride at 3:30 this afternoon to reduce the threat of an explosion.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-train ... d/42775738

[Dave from down under]

International investigation into downing of flight MH17 suspended, Putin ‘strongly implicated’

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-09/ ... /101949626

International prosecutors say they found "strong indications" Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use of a Russian missile system that shot down Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Key points:
Investigators said further progress in the case was restricted by a lack of cooperation from Moscow
Evidence "strongly" pointed towards the Russian president having signed off on the supply of the missile that downed the plane
Putin will not be pursued as he is protected by immunity as a head of state
Speaking from the Hague, representatives from the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which included representatives from the Netherlands and Australia, presented evidence implicating Mr Putin, including intercepted phone calls.

They did not suggest Mr Putin ordered the aircraft to be shot down.

Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer was careful not to label Mr Putin a "suspect", instead saying there were "strong indications, but we do not reach that high bar that it is a closed case".

As a head of state, Mr Putin is protected by immunity under Dutch law, which means the investigators are unable to pursue prosecution at the moment.

"Only after he is not a head of state can we look into what is next. Step by step," Ms van Boetzelaer said.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_ ... _Flight_17

[RTH10260]

https://twitter.com/DC_DeWitt/status/16 ... 0377194512

David DeWitt @DC_DeWitt
"President Donald Trump’s administration miscalculated the potential benefits of putting better brakes on trains that haul explosive fuels when it scrapped an Obama-era rule over cost concerns, The Associated Press has found."

< article below >.

9:15 PM · Feb 14, 2023

► Show Spoiler

US miscalculated benefit of better train brakes

By MATTHEW BROWN
December 21, 2018

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration miscalculated the potential benefits of putting better brakes on trains that haul explosive fuels when it scrapped an Obama-era rule over cost concerns, The Associated Press has found.

A government analysis used to justify the cancellation omitted up to $117 million in estimated future damages from train derailments that could be avoided by using electronic brakes. Revelation of the error stoked renewed criticism Thursday from the rule’s supporters, who called the analysis biased.

Department of Transportation officials acknowledged the mistake after it was discovered by the AP during a review of federal documents. They said a correction will be published to the federal register.

But transportation spokesman Bobby Fraser said the decision not to require the brakes would stand under a Congressional act that said the costs couldn’t exceed the rule’s benefits.

“This was an unintentional error,” Fraser. “With the correction, in all scenarios costs still outweigh benefits.”

Safety advocates, transportation union leaders and Democratic lawmakers oppose the administration’s decision to kill the brake rule, which was included in a package of rail safety measures enacted in 2015 under President Barack Obama following dozens of accidents by trains hauling oil and ethanol in the U.S. and Canada.




https://apnews.com/article/wv-state-wir ... eda53080b9

[AndyinPA]

I've got to say that I've been really surprised at how little coverage this has received from the beginning. Given that it's fifty miles from me and affects PA as well as OH, we've had coverage from the beginning. It was obvious that it was a horrendous event and people were being lied to. No one should have been allowed back into their homes in East Palestine or in the nearby Beaver County in PA. East Palestine is a quarter mile from the PA border. It's rural, so there aren't a lot of homes impacted here. Our governor is not happy with the way the Ohio governor has handled many parts of this.

I went out two days after this happened, the day after they did the explosion, and there was a smell of sort of smoke in the air. It was a warm day, so no one was burning in a fireplace.



Moved. Nope, I can't do that. Copied.

Edited to add: They almost immediately knew the cause of the accident.


I cross-posted this from the 118 Congress thread. This is where it belongs.

[AndyinPA]

Haunting new footage of the wreck of the RMS Titanic was set to be released on Wednesday, taken during the pioneering 1986 expedition that gave the first glimpses of the doomed ocean liner since its notorious sinking on its maiden voyage more than seven decades before.

The cache of more than 80 minutes of the rare and mostly unseen video comes from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) of Massachusetts, which partnered with French explorers in the discovery of the ship’s remains.

The release commemorates the 25th anniversary and re-release of the blockbuster movie Titanic, whose director and writer, James Cameron, continues to support Titanic research.

The Titanic sank with the loss of more than 1,500 lives in April 1912 after striking an iceberg, in one of the deadliest and most significant maritime disasters in history.

[Kendra]

Tapper: Back in 2018, the Trump Administration rolled back regulations around freight trains.. I know it's early, but will you be looking into whether or not that move contributed at all to this accident?

Isn't Gym Jordan from Ohio? Have we heard from him on this issue?

[AndyinPA]

I was just thinking of him yesterday. We have heard a lot about the disaster, but Jordan hasn't been seen or heard anywhere.

[Kendra]

I was just thinking of him yesterday. We have heard a lot about the disaster, but Jordan hasn't been seen or heard anywhere.

It would be nice to have a Hill reporter ask him.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... l-fallout/

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) chastised Norfolk Southern for putting emergency responders and community members at risk by not working with state leaders two weeks ago when one of the company’s trains derailed, unleashing highly toxic chemicals and causing the train cars to catch fire, displacing residents.

Shapiro’s letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is the most prominent finger-pointing since the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which is located near the Pennsylvania border. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said Tuesday that additional federal assistance wouldn’t be needed, despite President Biden offering help.

But there’s still a lot of work to do, The Washington Post has reported: Chemicals from the controlled release have killed about 3,500 non-endangered fish in local waterways and crews are digging out a 1,000-foot “grossly contaminated” area near the train tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.

Environmental experts and advocates have raised concerns, while residents have said they’re worried about whether it’s safe to be in town.

[Kendra]

While Rs try to blame Buttigieg we learn:
1. Trump removed safety standards
2. DeWine ordered the chem cars be burned
3. DeWine declined Fed assistance
4. DeWine said Norfolk Southern CEO “gave him his word” all would be well
5. CEO no-shows at town hall
6. CEO is a DeWine donor

[raison de arizona]

I don't know if it needs to be nationalized, but clearly there are some standards that are lacking.

Another Norfolk Southern train has just derailed outside Detroit. At least six cars came off the track, and one was carrying hazardous materials.

This is an industry that must be nationalized.

[AndyinPA]

Allegheny County has now begun reporting their monitoring of the air because of the train derailment. I will get ongoing notifications. As of today, nothing traceable to the wreck site.




Edited to add: They can't detect benzene and vinyl chloride.


Edited to add: Yes, they can.

[Kendra]

"What are you waiting for? It's already been two weeks!" -- Fox & Friends hosts were pretty tough with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine

[Kendra]

Cross posting.

Great. We can wrap this hearing up in an hour. DeWine trusted his political donor Norfolk Southern and his own state agency to handle the cleanup. He refused to declare it a disaster to get fed assistance. When he finally did after Sherrod Brown put heat on, he got it. Adjourned.

[Phoenix520]

We can’t let Republicans govern. We just can’t. They don’t know how, after all these years of disrupting. People, real people, get hurt.

[raison de arizona]

We can’t let Republicans govern. We just can’t. They don’t know how, after all these years of disrupting. People, real people, get hurt.

All they seem capable of doing is breaking everything, and then they stand around saying hey look at all this broken stuff. Elect us. And the rubes do.

[AndyinPA]

Sadly, this is rural Ohio. They probably voted for him.

On the noon local news, they showed JD Vance in one of the creeks (cricks? ), poking at the water. He was showing that, although the water looked clear, if you took a stick to it, it stirred up an ugly mess. No surprise. But the idiot was wearing obviously very expensive leather shoes or boots.

[neeneko]

Sadly, this is rural Ohio. They probably voted for him.

And will vote for him again. After all, sure he did not keep them safe from toxic chemicals, but that lack of safety creates jobs and he protects them from gays and communists and brown people!

[AndyinPA]

Sadly, this is rural Ohio. They probably voted for him.

And will vote for him again. After all, sure he did not keep them safe from toxic chemicals, but that lack of safety creates jobs and he protects them from gays and communists and brown people!

Actually, the train was headed for Conway, PA, across the border, to the train yard. They don't even have the benefit of the jobs.

[Kendra]

Norfolk-Southern who is going door to door, asking to test residents water.
The paragraph at the bottom of this
“Contract”states that:
“ The homeowner agrees to hold harmless Norfolk-Southern for any & all legal claims. Personal Injury or Property Damage”

Corporate Terrorism