[JumpCrisscross]

> not novel that a train derailed spilling toxic chemicals into a small town literally weeks after Congress forced a settlement on train workers who wanted to strike partly over safety concerns?

No, it's not. Over a thousand trains derail every year [1][2]. We have superfund sites under millions of Americans [3] that even locals can sometimes barely muster a bother with.

We also have no evidence this derailment was caused by an issue the recent deal forced, e.g. unpaid sick time. (It could have been. That would be a story.) But in the meantime it's not novel unless you're into trains or from that region. Exhibit A of that is the most interesting thing we, on Hacker News, can find to discuss about it being the meta debate.

[1] https://thehill.com/homenews/3539221-how-often-do-trains-der...

[2] https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Que...

[3] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/superfund/

[duckmysick]

> Over a thousand trains derail every year

How many of them require a controlled burn of its content that forces nearby citizens to evacuate?

> We have superfund sites under millions of Americans

How many of them are a result of a derailed train?

Yes, separately those events aren't novel. Their intersection is.

[TomSwirly]

You: "We are constantly fouling our environment in the most horrible ways, so there's no point in even thinking about it!"

> Over a thousand trains derail every year

How many of them are filled with toxic chemical substances that force the evacuation of a town?