From the East Palestine Derailment Disaster to the Toledo Water Crisis (w/ Mike Balonek & Chris Albright)

From East Palestine, Ohio, to South Baltimore and beyond, we’ve been connecting you with residents living in the toxic wastelands left by private and government-run industry—ordinary working people who have been thrust into extraordinary fights for their lives. In the latest installment of our ongoing Sacrificed series, we go to Toledo, Ohio, a city that, in 2014, lost access to its water supply for three days straight due to a massive, toxic algal bloom caused by runoff from industrial animal farming.

We speak with filmmaker Mike Balonek and welcome back Chris Albright, a resident of East Palestine, to discuss the connections between the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster and the Toledo Water Crisis. We also talk about an upcoming conference in Toledo on Saturday, August 3, hosted by the Justice for East Palestine Residents & Workers coalition: “Is your community a sacrifice zone? A conference on corporate-caused disasters.” The conference will focus on the Toledo Water Crisis, the derailment in East Palestine and the need for better railroad safety, and the radioactive poisoning of residents living near the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio. The conference will also feature the world premiere of filmmaker Mike Balonek’s new documentary The Big Problem In The Great Lakes, a film about the Toledo Water Crisis of 2014.

Additional links/info below…

• Toledo conference details: Saturday, Aug. 3, 9:30AM 

• Mike Balonek, The Big Problem In The Great Lakes

• WTOL 11, "Timeline | Looking back at the 2014 Toledo water crisis"

• Maximillian Alvarez, Cameron Granadino, & Hannah Faris, The Real News Network, "Factory farms pose an 'existential threat' for rural Wisconsin communities"

• Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Before East Palestine, there was Portsmouth"

• Stephanie Elverd, The Pakersburg News & Sentinel, "East Palestine residents express frustration with settlement from train derailment"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page

• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!

• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page

• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page

• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music...

• Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song