Ohio train derailment's toxic fallout compared to 'nuclear winter': 'We nuked this town with chemicals'
Former Ohio fire chief sounds alarm on 'Fox & Friends' as residents worry about long-term damage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A former Ohio fire chief described the Ohio train derailment's fallout of toxic chemicals as a "nuclear winter" Tuesday, arguing that the residents displaced by the crisis are being "marginalized" to mitigate the problem.
"I was watching a video a couple of days after they detonated all of the tanker cars and there was this plume [of smoke] that went up… and it stratified out at about 3,000 feet and then this guy in Darlington, Pennsylvania, I believe, started showing pictures of this black stuff precipitating out of this dark cloud over his house," Silverio Caggiano told Fox News' Steve Doocy on "Fox & Friends."
"It reminds you of that nuclear winter stuff that you see when you watch these nuclear explosions… this really looks like a nuclear winter. We nuked this town with chemicals, and this is what they're getting," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}People living near the site of an Ohio train derailment that resulted in the controlled release of toxic chemicals fear returning home. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Caggiano, who is also a hazardous materials expert, said the intimidating black plume towering over the East Palestine area in Columbiana County, Ohio discussed the dangers of being exposed to the toxic chemicals at length on-air Tuesday.
"From the onset, I advocated that the railroad company was responsible for this and, before these people went back to their homes, their homes should've been tested. Their homes should've been cleaned," he said, criticizing the government's claim that area residents can safely return home.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}OHIO TRAIL DERAILMENT CAUSES MASSIVE FIRE, FORCES VILLAGE EVACUATION
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Doocy reported concerns that the toxic substances emitted after the explosion could have sinister implications down the line, including water pollution, upticks in cancer risks, animal deaths and more.
"The EPA is now highly suspect to the fact that the railroad may have buried toxic waste in order to get the rail line back open again. It was buried under the rails from that trench that they dug, so they're investigating that," Caggiano said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added that the "rush" surrounding the crisis has left East Palestine residents in a predicament they shouldn't be in.
The EPA said in a February 10 letter to railroad company Norfolk Southern that dangerous chemicals ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether were among the chemicals discovered at the clean-up site after the train derailed seven days earlier.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Approximately 50 cars derailed during the event, and an evacuation order was sent out to residents within a mile of the scene.