Ohio Chemical Fallout Fears Overblown By ‘Right-Wing Commentators,’ New York Times Claims
Thompson noted that some commentators have indeed speculated that the disaster could be “Chernobyl 2.0” or could have been the result of a “planned attack.” He meanwhile took statements from the EPA and other agencies claiming that air and water supplies are safe at face value.
“They warned, without evidence, that vital water reservoirs serving states downriver could be badly contaminated. And they suggested that the authorities, railroad companies and mainstream news media were purposefully obscuring the full toll of the crisis,” he continued. “The EPA has said air quality has returned to safe levels. Residents have been allowed to return. A chemical odor lingers because people can smell the contaminants even when they are far below hazardous concentrations, according to the agency. Water testing found ‘no indication of risk’ to public water systems so far.”
The article from The New York Times comes as several legacy media outlets granted minimal attention to the derailment and subsequent fallout. Analysts from the Media Research Center examined all broadcast coverage of the incident between February 4 and February 14; the conservative nonprofit concluded that CBS devoted a mere 9 minutes and 53 seconds of total airtime to the scandal, while ABC had 9 minutes and 31 seconds, followed by NBC with 8 minutes and 52 seconds.
“Rather than healthy skepticism, reporters approached statements by Norfolk Southern and the Ohio EPA, both of whom had a blatant incentive to downplay the seriousness of the situation, with slavish credulity,” analysts at the Media Research Center noted. “Perhaps this explains why they haven’t gone back to the story: because they abandoned it too early before asking any meaningful questions. For the broadcast networks to revisit East Palestine now would be to admit that their prior abandonment of it was an error born out of laziness and a lack of curiosity.”
