Toxic chaos: What can we learn from the Ohio train derailment?

A freight train derailed in the US state of Ohio on February 3, spilling toxic chemicals into the small town of East Palestine. Fire on the train sent a large, dark plume of smoke and chemicals into the air for days. Residents reported various health issues, and scientists have warned that one of the chemicals on the train, a known carcinogen, could have long-term impacts due to air, water, and soil contamination. Both federal regulators and railroad employees have said that derailments like this could have been avoided – so have railroad industries weakened safety regulations to prioritize profits? In this episode: • Josh Rushing • ( @joshrushing • ) , • Senior Correspondent for Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines ( @AJFaultLines • ) Episode credits: This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan and host Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook