Chinese media says US policy is "more poisonous than the toxic train"

China Radio International “I am very worried and I don’t believe the air isn’t a problem,” said a housewife who lives in the state of Ohio, in the United States. Her health and that of her son have been poor since the train derailment carrying chemicals that occurred almost a month ago (February 3rd).

The housewife's complaint is not an isolated case. Increasingly, local residents have been diagnosed with bronchitis or other illnesses. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced on the 23rd of last month that nearly 44 animals have died due to water pollution caused by the toxic train. Furthermore, the impact of the accident is spreading to other states.

However, faced with such a serious problem, politicians have not shown the necessary sincerity and responsibility. At the end of last month, the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael S. Regan, visited the site of the accident and assured the public that the water and air are safe. However, a day earlier, the regional administrator of EPA Region 2, Judith Enck, told the press that local residents are sick and, therefore, the air and water logically have problems.

The two diametrically opposed statements reflect the absurdity of the US government's handling of the disaster's rescue and investigation. For example, after the accident, the relevant local departments simply burned the spilled vinyl chloride, which goes against science.

At the same time, the two American parties are trying to assign blame for the accident to each other. Neither wants to take responsibility and take the most effective actions to resolve the problem. Republicans criticized President Biden for preferring to rush to Kiev rather than visit Ohio residents, and for giving very generous aid to Ukrainians but failing to organize timely rescues for Ohio residents. 

On the other hand, Democrats believe that the Trump administration, pressured by railroad companies, relaxed controls on the transport of hazardous materials by train, which is the root cause of the disaster.

The New York Times commented that politicians from both parties lobbied in the city where the incident occurred to further their political goals, but these are just political shows and nobody cares about the problems that are troubling local residents.