Tag Archives: hazardous materials

Influence

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 17, 2023- I spent the better part of this morning helping to evaluate a school facility, as a potential Red Cross shelter site, in the event of a large-scale emergency. The purpose is always to help people who are suffering, as a result of wildfire, local flooding or a hazardous materials event.

The chances of the last two are relatively small. That set me to thinking about East Palestine, Ohio- a place that has suffered severe environmental and health damage, as a result of a chemical leak and “controlled” fire, which nonetheless sent toxic smoke into the air, over at least a 50-mile radius of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Chemical pollution of the Ohio River and its tributaries has already reportedly resulted in large-scale fish kills.

Norfolk Southern, which operates the trains involved in the incident, resisted Federal pressure to digitize the pneumatic braking systems on its trains. That pressure was relieved under Trump administration rules, apparently with the expectation that the company would figure out how to do the right thing, without the government’s knee on its back. The railroad opted not to update the braking systems, citing cost. The Biden administration as well, has defended Norfolk Southern in court, up to now. I wonder, given the costs that are accruing to the company, as it pays for Hazardous Materials cleanup and gives $5000 a household to people in the affected area, whether failure to update was indeed cost effective.

The Federal EPA is actively involved in the response to this horror, but the rest of the Executive Branch seems to be not so concerned. Norfolk Southern is a Class I railroad, meaning that it has a fair amount of clout in the national transportation scheme. Do the people of East Palestine and western Beaver County matter much to the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Justice? Bureaucratic wheels grind slowly, so time will tell. Maybe electronic pneumatic braking will again be required. Maybe the winding railroad through the hills of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia will be upgraded, minimizing the risks that residents of northern Appalachia face, on a daily basis.

Maybe this terrible event will lead to some meaningful long-term action. Maybe the President’s words, about not leaving anyone out, will be truthful, in deed. Time will tell.

The Chain and the Dominoes

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

April 6, 2022, Houston- The message came over the loudspeaker: “Folks, we are waiting here (6 miles west of Lake Charles, LA), until a freight train heading west (it was actually heading east), is able to pass.” The message came from the spirit world: “The train in question is loaded with flammable materials. It is being held up by a safety check of the cars.” As it happened, the process took one hour. An eastbound freight train passed us, we passed a sidelined westbound train, that was loaded with about thirty-five flammable tanks and cars. This gargantuan city would take another two hours and thirty minutes to reach, from our perch between Lake Charles and Vinton.

Then came the real game changer: On Sunday, April 2, a rail bridge near Dryden, in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, caught fire, for the second time this year. All Amtrak passengers would have to disembark in San Antonio. Two of my car mates opted to fly from Houston. I have a commitment, call it what you will, to staying on the ground, this trip. So, a quick phone call secured a room for yours truly at Alamo Inn, San Antonio. I will be in one of my favourite Texas cities, for however many hours are left before check-out. Thus shall a day that has revealed both the interconnectedness of us all, and the fragility of that connection, have played out.

The day started nicely enough, with a shower, good coffee and a quiet hour or so of reflection, at The Quisby Hotel, another welcoming hostel-in a chain of safe havens that I have been fortunate to locate, over the past four years. The Quisby is in New Orleans’ Garden District, across a busy freeway from the Big Easy’s AMTRAK station. I will most certainly seek a place there, whenever my route takes me through NOLA.

A kind and honest driver came to get me at the appointed time. I was assigned a seat on Car # 2, we got underway on time and were efficiently headed west-until the debate at AMTRAK headquarters, as to how to handle our train, in light of the bridge fire, was resolved. A plan was announced to offer each of us a ride back to our place of embarkation (for me, that was New Orleans, and I already knew that the Quisby was going to be full, this evening. Besides, I have commitments in Prescott, this weekend. I will take a bus, if necessary.

The other chain of dominoes that is ever more tightly-connected is with my Baha’i study groups. As I remarked to members of one such group, we will be ever more engaged in threading the needles of various individual and collective needs, in the days and months ahead.

It will be late, very late, when we get to San Antonio, but I know it will be alright.