Nothing is easy.
“Hey, it wasn’t our fault! It was you!”
“That’s what you guys always say. You just want us to pay the damages.”
And around and around it goes.
Even assuming the Ohio train disaster was a terrorist attack, lurking in the background is the day-in day-out transport of highly dangerous chemicals by rail crisscrossing the country.
Who is responsible for THAT?
Here’s an excerpt of a vital article from
For its part, the freight rail companies are forced by the federal government to transport dangerous materials regardless of the peril such cargoes represent. In particular, they [the railroads] lament the substantial risk embodied by having to carry Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) chemicals on their lines. Included on the TIH list are ammonia and chlorine, both of which are transported by rail in significant quantities. Here is how UP [Union Pacific Railroad] characterizes the situation from their perspective:
“Under the common carrier obligation, the federal government requires railroads to transport hazmat, whether they want to or not. Trucks and barges do not have this same obligation and may refuse to carry hazmat at their discretion. Union Pacific does not make Toxic Inhalation Hazard materials, own the tank cars that move TIH or decide the origin or destination to which it is shipped. However, the common carrier obligation requires Union Pacific to transport TIH.”
But wait. Are we really supposed to believe UP and other railroad giants would refuse to carry these chemical poisons if they could? And thereby sacrifice giant ongoing profits?
I don’t think so.
The railroads just want somebody to blame. And so does the federal government. And so do the chemical companies who manufacture the poisons and want them transported.
You could even say these three forces are doing THEATER. “You blame me and I’ll blame him and he’ll blame you.”
In my recent podcast about the Ohio Train Disaster, I emphasized the fact that most vinyl chloride is made at the same location where it is then turned into PVC pipe. But still, a great deal of the chemical is shipped long distances to the PVC factories.
Which should be forbidden. Which should be considered a crime.
However, the rail companies are pocketing major fees for carrying the chemical. The feds are mandating this transport. And the chemical companies want the vinyl chloride moved by rail. They’re all in it together.
Follow this bouncing ball: The braking systems for most of these huge freight trains are based on 19th century technology.
This means when the trains are suddenly stopped, the cars tend to bunch up, and you can get a derailment.
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MCViewPoint 