The ground and water were not tested for vinyl chloride. The substance is not even classified as hazardous material despite its toxicity. Only the air was tested, and the EPA said, "All clear!" Vinyl chloride dissipates in the air rapidly, but it contaminates soil and water.
Politicians are more concerned with campaign contributions than safety. Railroad car brakes are often still Civil War technology despite safer brakes being available since at least the 1990s.
Personnel reductions were made, and safety check inspections were cut from 5 minutes for each railroad car to 60 seconds. Railroads are even lobbying Congress to allow trains crewed by only one person—a conductor but no engineer.
Forget the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. Welcome to the Corporate Age—a government ruled as a corporatocracy rather than a democracy.
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