Toxic chemicals released during fires following the Norfolk Southern train derailment in Ohio last year spread to 16 states and likely Canada, according to a study released Wednesday.

The pollution, some of which came from the burning of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, spread over 540,000 square miles, showing clearly that “the impacts of the fire were larger in scale and scope than the initial predictions,” the authors of the study, published in Environmental Research Letters, found.

Lead author David Gay, coordinator of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, said that he was very surprised by the way the chemicals had spread. “I didn’t expect to see an impact this far out,” he told The Washington Post.

Gay said the results did not mean “death and destruction,” as concentrations were low on an absolute scale—”not melting steel or eating paint off buildings”—but that they were still “very extreme” compared to normal, with measurements higher than recorded in the previous ten years.

“I think we should be concerned,” Juliane Beier, an expert on vinyl chloride effects who didn’t take part in the study, told the Post, citing the possibility of long-term environmental impacts on communities.

A Norfolk Southern train crashed in East Palestine, Ohio, a village near the Pennsylvania border and the Appalachian foothills, on February 3, 2023. Dozens of train cars derailed, at least 11 of which were carrying hazardous materials, some of which caught fire after the accident and burned for days. Fearing a large-scale explosion, authorities drained the vinyl chloride from five cars into a trench and set it alight in a controlled burn.

A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official later said that the controlled burn went against EPA rules; the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said the deliberate burning was unnecessary.

The local impact of the fires was felt acutely in the month after the accident—a “potent chemical odor hung in the air for weeks,” according to The Guardian, and people reported nausea, rashes, and headaches.

The new study helps explain the wider environmental impact. The researchers looked at inorganic compound samples in rain and snow at 260 sites. The highest levels of chloride were found in northern Pennsylvania and near the Canada-New York border, which was downwind from the accident.

The authors also found “exceptionally high” pH levels in rain as far away as northern Maine. They did not look at organic compounds such as dioxin or PFAS, which likely also spread following the accident, The Guardian reported. The elevated inorganic chemical levels dropped two to three weeks after the accident.

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in damages following two settlements reached in recent months. In April, the company reached a $600 million deal with class action plaintiffs living within 20 miles of the derailment site. That deal won’t be finalized until the residents officially agree. In May, the company reached a separate $310 million settlement with the federal government. The company has said that it has already spent $107 million on community support and removed the impacted soil.

Norfolk Southern makes billions in profits every year, and the company gave its CEO a 37% pay hike last year, drawing widespread criticism. The company also spent $2.3 million on federal lobbying last year, according to OpenSecrets data reported by Roll Call.

Link to study

Former White House physician and current Representative Ronny Jackson has announced his intention to send a recommendation letter to the White House, urging them to test President Joe Biden for performance-enhancing drugs ahead of the upcoming presidential debate with Donald Trump.

Taking to Twitter, Jackson made his demands clear with a tweet that read: “DRUG TEST BIDEN BEFORE THE DEBATE! Will we see Sleepy Joe, who lives in the White House Basement, or will we see Jacked-Up Joe who made an appearance at the State Of The Union??? The American people deserve to know if their ‘President’ is taking Performance Enhancing Drugs! TEST BIDEN NOW!!”

During an appearance on Maria Bartiromo’s show, Jackson reiterated his position , where he announced his plans to formally request the drug test. He emphasized the American public’s right to transparency regarding their president’s health and cognitive abilities.

Flashback to January 2018

This isn’t the first time Jackson has been at the center of controversy regarding the health and fitness of a sitting president. In January 2018, as the White House physician, he defended President Trump’s cognitive health amidst media speculation and scrutiny. Jackson’s assessment of Trump’s cognitive fitness was met with skepticism and criticism from mainstream media, a stark contrast to what Jackson perceives as the current media’s leniency towards President Biden.

Jackson has been vocal about his concerns regarding President Biden’s fitness for office. He has previously stated that Biden is “not fit to be commander-in-chief and head of state,” asserting that “you don’t have to be a doctor to see it.”

Accusations of Hypocrisy

Jackson has accused Democrats and the mainstream media of hypocrisy, alleging a double standard in how the fitness of Trump and Biden has been treated. They argue that while the media aggressively questioned Trump’s cognitive health, they now dismiss or downplay concerns regarding Biden’s mental and physical condition.

As the debate approaches, Jackson’s call for a drug test adds another layer of drama and controversy to an already contentious election cycle. Whether the White House will respond to his recommendation remains to be seen, but the demand underscores ongoing concerns and debates about transparency and the health of the nation’s leaders.

A new report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has highlighted ongoing issues with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processes at a major international airport. Between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, CBP agents at this airport released at least 383 inadmissible travelers into the U.S. who were legally prohibited from entering the country. Instead of detaining and processing them for removal, these travelers were released and ordered to return on their own recognizance, with 168 (44%) failing to return for their removal flights.

The report, which redacts the name and location of the airport and regional offices, found that the regional CBP and ICE detention and removal processes were ineffective. ICE officials reportedly denied CBP’s overnight detention requests for inadmissible travelers due to “staffing and bed space limitations.” Additionally, CBP cited insufficient overtime funds to detain travelers after operating hours and logistical challenges in transferring travelers to another airport.

The investigation also revealed that CBP agents failed to issue “notices to appear” (NTAs) to 77 inadmissible travelers who did not return for their deportation flights. Issuing NTAs would have transferred these travelers to ICE for removal proceedings. CBP agents claimed they lacked an effective process to track inadmissible travelers who failed to return for their removal flights.

The OIG report also found that CBP reduced the number of staff responsible for issuing NTAs, contributing to a backlog of unissued NTAs for identified inadmissible travelers. This report follows previous OIG findings that CBP agents were not properly screening and vetting noncitizens released into the country, including known and suspected terrorists.

Despite claims of inadequate funding, Congress has increased CBP funding by $2.98 billion since fiscal 2021. However, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security identified consistent misuse and abuse of taxpayer resources by DHS, particularly through its failure to detain illegal aliens and use ICE detention resources as intended.

Under the Biden administration, ICE has not used detention facilities at full capacity, costing taxpayers between $1.3 billion and $1.43 billion annually. The administration’s fiscal 2024 budget requested significant cuts to CBP and ICE operations compared to fiscal 2023 levels. In contrast, the previous administration’s fiscal 2021 budget requested 60,000 ICE beds, whereas the Biden administration requested 32,500 and 25,000 beds for fiscal 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has faced criticism for these policies. In a recent House Homeland Security budget hearing, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., challenged Mayorkas on his request for fewer ICE detention beds than Congress funded. Despite being given more money than requested, Mayorkas has claimed that DHS lacks the financial resources needed to secure the southern border.

Since January 2021, over 11 million illegal entries have been recorded, including those who evaded capture. In the first six months of fiscal 2024, more than 1.7 million illegal entries were reported. In February, Mayorkas became the first sitting cabinet member in U.S. history to be impeached after claiming for years that the southern border was secure. In April, he admitted that there was a crisis at the southern border.

The OIG report underscores the need for improved processes and resources to address the ongoing challenges at the U.S. border and ensure the effective detention and removal of inadmissible travelers.