While it's very locally bad, it's not even close the the worst Ohio has ever seen, much less the US. It's not "mini chernobyl" ffs - the real bulk of the problem comes from the phosgene and hydrogen cloride released in the burning of the vinyl chloride. Very nasty chemicals, but ones that rapidly dissipate.

The Cuyahoga river literally caught on fire 18 times. It used to be an entirely dead waterway. No fish could live there, nothing could live there besides a few invertebrates. The fact that there are even animals present to kill in the first place makes this not nearly as bad as past Ohioan environment debacles.

If you look at the whole country... I mean come on. Google Love Canal. Look at pictures of Centralia, PA, if you want an example of an actual Chernobyl-like exclusion zone in the US. This is unfortunate and will certainly not be without consequences, but we're way better at destroying the planet than this. It's not even that bad in the narrow category of "rail disaster chemical spills" - the 1979 Mississauga derailment makes this look trivial.

It has also been reported on extensively, in every major outlet. Come on, not everything needs to be shades of conspiracy. If you're not seeing anything about it, that's more of a symptom of the algorithmic media bubble you've chosen for yourself than a lack of reporting.

The disaster was bad, but perspective still matters. It's being treated in social media as practically apocalyptic, and it just isn't. The real tragedy here looks to be how avoidable it was, and that should be the focus.

Oh, and if it will actually be a Chernobyl-like long term disaster that will permanently contaminate the area and limit human habitation, it will be the best thing to happen to the Ohio environment in a long time.