Most voters give the federal government low ratings for its response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Only 30% of likely U.S. voters rate the government's response to the train derailment as good or excellent, while 46% give the government a poor rating for handling the disaster.
These are some of the results of the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey.
The freight train released the toxic chemical vinyl chloride, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said tests showed no water quality concerns. A House committee will be investigating.
Only 23% of voters in the Rasmussen survey say that they would feel safe drinking the water if they lived near the derailment site, including just 9% who would feel very safe drinking the water there. A big majority, 71%, would not feel safe drinking the water near East Palestine, including 47% who say they'd feel not at all safe.
Distrust of the EPA's water-quality assurances in East Palestine crosses political categories, Rasmussen points out, although more Republicans (59%) than Democrats (37%) or unaffiliated voters (47%) say they would feel not at all safe drinking the water near the derailment site.
Voters of all perspectives say they are informed about the derailment, with 82% saying they have closely followed news reports, including 49% who say they've followed the news very closely.
While 44% of Democrats rate the federal government's response to the train derailment as good or excellent, only 15% of Republicans and 28% of unaffiliated voters share that opinion. Sixty-three percent (63%) of Republicans, 27% of Democrats, and 48% of unaffiliated voters give the government a poor rating for its response to the derailment.
More men (30%) than women voters (16%) in the Rasmussen survey say they would feel at least somewhat safe drinking the water near East Palestine. Men (34%) are also more likely than women voters (25%) to give the federal government a good or excellent rating for its response to the Ohio train derailment.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of whites, 37% of black voters, and 50% of other minorities say they would feel not at all safe drinking the water near the Ohio train derailment site. Black voters are least likely to give the federal government a poor rating for its response to the derailment.
While 33% of voters under 40 say they would feel at least somewhat safe drinking the water near East Palestine, only 18% of those ages 40-64 and 20% of voters 65 and older share that confidence. Voters under 40 are also significantly less likely to rate the federal government's response to the Ohio train derailment as poor.
Breaking down the electorate by income categories, 48% of voters earning above $200,000 a year say they'd feel at least somewhat safe drinking the water near East Palestine, compared to just 12% of those with annual incomes below $30,000. Voters earning between $30,000 and $50,000 a year are more likely to give the government a poor rating for its response to the Ohio train derailment.
President Joe Biden's strongest supporters are most likely to accept the EPA's claims about water quality near the train crash site, according to Rasmussen. Among voters who strongly approve of Biden's job performance as president, 50% would feel at least somewhat safe drinking the water near East Palestine. By contrast, among voters who strongly disapprove of Biden's performance, only 6% say they'd feel at least somewhat safe drinking the water near the derailment site, and 75% would feel not at all safe.
The survey of 1,000 U.S. likely voters was conducted on Feb. 21-23, 2023, by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
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