Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s transportation secretary, has been oddly quiet and needs to address the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio. The authorities released hazardous polyvinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals to avoid explosions and keep the tracks operable.

“We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open,” Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist, informed a local news outlet.

For some reason, Buttigieg has not responded to the ecological crises. The transportation secretary’s Twitter and press releases have ignored the event, even as reports that animals and fish are dying near the area emerge.

When Buttigieg finally emerged on Monday, he only stirred up the division by discussing the ratio of white workers in the construction industry.

“We have heard way too many stories from generations past of infrastructure where you got a neighborhood, often a neighborhood of color, that finally sees the project come to them, but everyone in the hard hats on that project, doing the good paying jobs, don’t look like they came from anywhere near the neighborhood.” 

Buttigieg’s comments show a certain level of ignorance. Perhaps people of color are not interested in working in construction. In America, people are still free to follow their dreams and work in the fields to which they aspire. Pretending the construction industry is racist and keeps different groups from entering is nothing short of divisive and blatantly false.

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted,

“Pete Buttigieg has finally emerged today. Not a single comment about the train crash in Ohio. Instead, he bemoaned the whiteness of the construction industry. It’s a miracle that this country is able to function at all under this regime.

The Babylon Bee mocked Buttigieg poor job performance tweeting,

“Pete Buttigieg promises to investigate Ohio Railway Chemical Spill For Signs Of Racism.”

 

Residents of East Palestine have been allowed to return home. Chemicals were observed in the atmosphere following the explosion, but regulators said the levels were safe. Sadly residents are concerned that this is not true. They have complained about pets dying and suspect chemical exposure is to blame. They have also complained about experiencing headaches and nausea.

The possible effects on the human population still need to be understood. However, the Environmental Protection Agency says anyone experiencing symptoms should see a doctor.

Caggiano has his concerns over the possibilities of future harm caused by the rail disaster, “There’s a lot of what ifs, and we’re going to be looking at this thing 5, 10, 15, 20 years down the line and wondering, ‘Gee, cancer clusters could pop up, you know, well water could go bad.”

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