Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Faces Intense Backlash Over Delayed Trip To Ohio Train Derailment Site After Toxic Chemicals Were Released

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg continues to face intense backlash for waiting to visit the site of the Ohio train derailment, which led to a controlled release of toxic chemicals.

RadarOnline.com has learned the public figure said Tuesday that he will make the trip to East Palestine "when the time is right" to see first-hand the devastating effects.

President Biden has also been denounced by critics who believe his administration has not moved quickly enough to help after the catastrophe, with the mayor of East Palestine calling his recent trip to Kyiv a "slap in the face."

The train, operated by Norfolk Southern, derailed on February 3 and had been carrying chemicals and combustible materials, including vinyl chloride, a toxic flammable gas.

A huge fire erupted and authorities decided how to proceed, opting to perform a controlled release of the toxic materials from five tankers days later on February 6, and the contents were diverted to a trench and burned off.

Since the incident, locals have been posting about sick pets and dying animals nearby amid concerns their own health might be at risk.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said in a press conference that roughly 3,500 small fish had died after the incident.

Mayor Trent Conaway said the city water is safe, but urged locals to test any private sources to ensure that it's also fine to drink.

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Buttigieg appeared on Good Morning America this week, during which he was asked about their plan of action and why he has not visited East Palestine in the 18 days since the derailment.

"He just [too] scared to go now does not want to meet the people he would have to answer the fact he is failing at his job," one person tweeted.

"The people of East Palestine need to know that their federal government cares about them. Leadership responsibility cannot be delegated," another wrote.

A third echoed, "So Pete, what prompted your 'planning to go' nearly a month later?"

Buttigieg did not give a timeframe for his trip, but assured that he was going, explaining, "I am planning to go and our folks were on the ground from the first hours. I do want to stress that the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] needs to be able to do its work independently."

"People who were there because they have a specific job to do and are there to get something done. And people were there to look good and have their picture taken," he continued, promising to fight for change.

"When I go, it will be about action on real safety, like the actions that we are calling on Congress to help us with, that we are calling on industry to take and that we are undertaking ourselves as a department to help make sure that these kinds of things don't happen in the future."