204. I GET IT--YOU ARE TRAUMATIZED. WE ARE, TOO.
The ground has shifted under our feet--we are realizing that we live in a dystopia. This is agonizing for all of us.
More about the derailed train, by Frederick R Smith from Frederick R. Smith Speaks
Commentary by Robert Yoho:
In this age of censorship, trust in information sources has vanished, and our skepticism meters are all flashing red. Here is further background to help you understand our position about the train wreck.
About Fred: I met him over a year ago in the comment section of Matt Briggs' blog. We have been communicating weekly ever since, are fast friends, and I trust him. He is also in his 60s and is another committed truth warrior. He would never shill for anyone. Fred is a more sophisticated student of today's reality than I am because he has been studying the corporate-government cabal far longer. We each have specialized expertise; his is railroad management, and mine is medical corruption.
As the train debates began, we spotted a chance to improve general understanding. Fred has been a railway geek since his pre-teen years. During his professional career working for railroads, he participated on-the-scene in 12 (twelve) other railway disaster evaluations, a third of which involved toxic cleanups. He was also the technical editor for dozens of other reports of train derailments, collisions, and fatalities.
He followed this one closely and had informed opinions immediately. As you recall, Fred also consulted with a colleague whose specialty is supervising hazardous materials rail transportation. Since none of us has expertise in human toxic exposures, we confined our commentary to the events.
My initial ideas about the situation were primarily from Doomberg. It is one of the most reliable sources on Substack.
We scrambled to create a coherent message, and it was not a casual effort. Including this reply, Fred has worked for 20 hours, and I spent nine hours editing and sharpening his focus.
The rest is Fred's:
This post addresses some criticisms of my essay "The East Palestine Ohio Train Wreck: a Study in Hysteria," which was reposted on the Surviving Healthcare Substack.
I aimed to analyze the information about Norfolk Southern's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3, 2023, and dispel some of the more doubtful claims. Readers' responses ranged from thanks to aggressive criticism. We are thankful for all the involvement, but when you comment, remember that authors cannot reply to everyone individually or necessarily accept reading assignments.
Our focus was within my expertise and that of my collaborating specialist. I hope the following will improve your understanding.
· Dioxin. This appears only in the section dealing with conspiracy theories and only once. Several readers attempted to morph my essay's focus into a debate. They were mistaken if they thought my words were an editorial about dioxin. Maybe I misspoke, but sensitivities run so high now that I doubt it.
This area is specialized. Though it may seem implausible in our era of mistrust, I defer to experts here. Although many leaders are psychopaths, few of those working on the ground-level are.
· I was struck by the statement about "the biggest cloud in history." Other claims, such as "laying waste to the east coast," were also hyperbole. These do not advance rational debate.
· Silence about the "other chemicals." I discussed the eleven high-hazard materials cars and referenced other petroleum hazards using a link to the official list of cars. All the spilled products at the site are obviously environmental and health concerns.
· Only one car with a malfunctioning relief valve. Why was it necessary to control-burn all five vinyl chloride cars with only one malfunctioning valve? I do not want to speculate about this because my knowledge is incomplete. The position of the cars, the risks involved, and other factors are still unknown. Highly skilled hazardous material professionals are on the scene, and I assume they are trying to make the best decisions. Many more details will appear in the NTSB's final report, and I may comment about that later.
· Why did they not transload the vinyl chloride? See above. Also, vinyl chloride is a compressed gas, and transferring from rail to truck out in the open, away from a loading or unloading facility, is tricky. From what I have been told, this is rarely practical.
· The essay sounds like Norfolk Southern propaganda. Yes—these days, any support for the government or corporate messaging does seem like propaganda. But we should never automatically flip the conspiracy switch. I am independent; I don't own any Norfolk Southern stock, nor have I ever worked for that company.
· Very long trains. One commenter indicated that NS's trains traveling through East Palestine are typically less than 100 cars long. Please see my discussion about Precision Scheduled Railroading and Electronically Controlled Pneumatic Brakes. Other information about the makeup of the train is not available yet but might bear on this issue. Disclaimer - I'm not fond of excessively long trains for several reasons.
This is a free speech zone, so I appreciate all comments. The wreck and the aftermath are obviously a terrible situation for the residents of East Palestine and possibly the entire nation. Acrimony is understandable. We must exchange ideas to make the nation's transportation network as safe as possible.
If you respect Fred as much as I do, click the byline above to check out his Substack.
Generally good responses to people's concerns. However, I think if you are going to title something 'A Study in Hysteria' it was a predictable outcome that there would be significant push back if there was anything of merit to be concerned about in the situation. And there clearly is merit for concern which is acknowledged in the article and these statements. So why the assumption that "Highly skilled hazardous material professionals are on the scene, and I assume they are trying to make the best decisions." I have zero latitude for those with 'good intentions' anymore. Zero. Do your job with excellence or find a less critical field.
I love a reasoned approach, as well as one that challenges my assumptions about a situation. So thanks for being brave enough to voice something this controversial. It would still be my opinion though that the writeup granted far too much latitude to the legitimacy of the EPA efforts in spite of their clear track record of being a captured agency- like every other U.S. regulatory agency I know of.
Robert,
I am an MD with a Masters degree in chemistry. My graduate research paper was on 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (2,3,7,8 TCDD). I have several comments specifically on the dioxin matter in this event.
1) The specific reactions that create dioxins are different for every type of dioxin, so it is hyperbolic to assert that everyone in the vast exposure zone will be intoxicated by dioxin.
2) On the opposite side of this, the "controlled burn" was only controlled in the size of the fire, and an open burn of vinly chloride CANNOT control the type of created contaminants, virtually all of which will have varying degrees of toxicity.
3) Different dioxins have different levels of toxicity, with the 2,3,7,8 TCDD the most toxic. This is the version that most people refer to when they say "dioxin", but it is not the most prevalent product in open burn of vinyl chloride, to the best of my knowledge.
4) Even if only minute levels of dioxins are released in a burn, the toxicity of the agent is so high that horrible consequences can result.
5) The size of the burn was enormous (as seen from space) and the black cloud produced was a Pandora's Box of dioxins and nearly as toxic non-dioxin chemistry that you will, hopefully, ever see.
6) No-one, to my knowledge, has even begun to approach the actual analysis of the scope and severity of the catastrophe. This is typical in the current la-la-land bureaucracy that passes for a government. Just have the press write more articles to make it go away, magic!, it's not a problem any more.
7) They don't want to have to mount a response because they no longer have the capacity to. The frank incompetence is what they ignore on one hand, and deny on the other. The widespread denial that our system is collapsing is just a manifestation of the drug addled populace which cannot cope with the hostile realities that we are facing. Voting the bums out will no longer solve anything. There is nobody coming to the rescue.