Erin Brockovich: The government is lying to Ohioans about water safety in East Palestine after train disaster
Non-lawyer and clean water crusader Erin Brockovich spoke to TMZ when arriving home at LAX from Ohio and sounded the alarm about residents being lied to in Ohio.
"Residents are very frustrated," she said. "They're very concerned. I just got a text from one of the residents who have private wells and they confirmed it's contaminated. But they weren't too concerned it was a high level."
While local and state officials claimed that the Ohio River was safe, there have been ongoing concerns about the chemicals seeping into the groundwater. Rural residents oftentimes have water wells pumping their own water. When the chemicals get into the groundwater, it means everything from drinking water to bathing water and crop water is dangerous. For farmers, that can not only endanger their lives but also end their businesses. Brockovich explained that it was a problem that would last for decades.
She went on to call it "craziness."
"The EPA is out there. They're told one thing. They're told another. Evacuate. Come home. Drink the water. Don't drink the water," she went on. "The one thing that's kind of concerning is that the EPA still says it's an emergency zone. They're remediating. So, it's contaminated and they just want them to live there. They should be moved out. They want to be moved out. So, it's kind of a bad situation."
She went on to say that there was no planning or preparedness for anything. She noted that those who were on the ground were getting sore throats, cloudy eyes, red skin and rashes, and that came after just being there for a little while. Brockovich explained that this is because as the cleanup is happening, they're stirring everything up in the air while trying to clean the water. Residents are hoping that the state or federal government will come in and help move them to safe places.
President Joe Biden has been criticized for not visiting, but the site isn't safe and Brockovich said that people are so angry it's not exactly the best idea to go in and give a speech unless the government is able to do something immediately to rectify the situation.
"People are just left sitting there like the frog boiling in the water," she closed.
Last week, chemical waste shipments have resumed in Ohio. On Saturday, there was another train derailment by Norfolk Southern.