The environmental disaster currently unfolding in East Palestine, Ohio is one the United States has unfortunately already been faced with many times before. Companies or government entities like Camp Lejeune, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and Flint Michigan are several examples of those who polluted the air and water in residential areas and attempted to avoid liability for years. While you would think the government or other companies would learn from previous environmental disasters, these cases have various overlapping situations: In all of these cases there was some sort of inciting incident that the guilty party could have easily avoided, whether it taking specific safety measures to prevent spillage of harmful substances, or taking proper precautions when disposing of harmful substances. Vinyl Chloride, an odorless chemical used in creating PVCl, was one of the chemicals recently spilled in the East Palestine, Ohio railroad accident. Ironically, this is also the same chemical negligently disposed of into the water at Camp Lejeune - over 80 years ago.The compound of Vinyl Chloride has been found to cause various forms of cancer in those who have ingested and had significant unprotected contact with the chemical. In a majority of the Camp Lejeune cases, those exposed...
Continue readingA Personal Injury’s Perspective on East Palestine, Ohio.
By Matthew Marin