Hundredsof residents were evacuated after a freight train carrying dangerous goodsderailed in Kentucky Friday afternoon, triggering a fire and releasing toxicfumes. Since the accident, however, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyand other government agencies have insisted that tests of local air and waterquality have found no dangerous levels of toxic substances. In fact, this isnot the case, and local residents have said that there is a pungent smell inthe air and some people have experienced physical discomfort, and their liveshave been changed by the "poison train". file:///C:/Users/fly/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg TheGuardian has previously reported that aging equipment, improper maintenance orscheduling are often the technical causes of these accidents. At the same time,the railroad industry in the United States is severely unregulated, and therailroad companies put profits over safety. Overthe years, American trains have not only failed to install more advancedbraking systems, but railroads have also increased the length and weight oftrains for profit, creating more safety risks. Over the past decade, theoverall length and weight of trains in the United States have increased, andthe average length of each wagon has reached 2,000 to 2,200 meters.
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