One of the videos shows wheel bearing in the final stage of overheating
State and Local Officials Are Helping to Detect Long-Lived Toxic Chemicals After a Firefighting in East Palestine
The interview comes nearly two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, a town of under 5,000 people along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The derailment was followed by a dayslong blaze and the ordered evacuation of residents until local and state officials declared the air and water safe enough for people to return – about five days after the wreck.
Authorities in East Palestine warned that burning vinyl chloride could cause an explosion that would release hydrogen chloride and toxic gasses into the air. They said Wednesday subsequent air monitoring hasn’t detected dangerous levels inside or outside the mile-radius evacuation zone, which stretched into Pennsylvania. Drabick said air and water samples taken Tuesday from the evacuation area show it’s now safe, and the evacuation order is lifted. He expressed his gratitude for state and federal officials who helped out during the recent emergency response.
Feb. 18 — Air monitoring and indoor air screening continue, according to the EPA. Municipal water samples show no water quality concerns, the agency says.
We also know that in addition to continuing to test residents’ homes, air and soil for the chemicals leaked during the derailment and toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were present in the firefighting suppressant used to control the blaze, there is a desperate need to test the immediate area for long-lived pollutants like carcinogenic dioxins, and related chemicals that could have been released during the fire.
Further spurring residents’ questions about safety – some of which were expressed at an emotional community meeting Wednesday – were crews’ decision to conduct controlled detonations February 6 of some tanks carrying toxic chemicals to prevent a more dangerous explosion. Though a larger blast was averted, the detonations essentially released chemicals into the air, including vinyl chloride that at high levels could kill and increase cancer risk.
The commander of the Ohio National Guard had said that members would take readings inside homes and businesses in order to make sure the air was safe before the order was lifted.
The Norfolk Southern Freight Cars Derailment in East Palestine: A First-Class Action Suitcase filed by a Local Couple and Business Owner
On Feb. 3, about three dozen Norfolk Southern freight cars derailed near East Palestine, a town of roughly 4,800. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have indicated that the derailment was likely caused by a wheel bearing failure; a preliminary report is expected next week.
A local couple and business owner file the first-class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, CNN reports. The suit accuses the rail company of negligence, stating it failed to exercise reasonable care for residents, with businesses adversely affected by the derailment and chemical spill.
A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report found that one of the train’s cars carrying plastic pellets was heated by a hot axle that sparked the initial fire, Homendy said. Video of the train before the crash showed what appeared to be an overheated wheel bearing, the report said.
The evacuation order was lifted on Wednesday and since then, there have been a growing number of reports about people experiencing a burning sensation in their eyes, animals falling ill and a strong odor lingering in the town.
The EPA continues to monitor the air in East Palestine. Monitoring since the fire went out has not detected any levels of concern that can be attributed to the incident.
The Ratner home was cleared for vocs, he said. And so far, no chemical detections were identified in the air of 291 homes screened by the EPA for hazardous chemicals including vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride, it said in a Monday news update, with schools and a library also screened and 181 more homes to go.
Breathing or drinking vinyl chloride can cause a number of health risks including dizziness and headaches. People who breathe the chemical over many years may also experience liver damage.
Other chemicals of concern at the site include phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released when vinyl chloride breaks down; butyl acrylate; ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate; and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. The chemicals in the environment can change and create a stew of toxins.
The EPA has been monitoring for several other hazardous chemicals, including phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released by burning vinyl chloride. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that phosgene and hydrogen chloride can irritate the skin, nose, eyes and throat.
The New York City Public Works Investigation of an East Palestine Derailment when a Metal Rail Car Collision Happened in an Overheating Wheel Bearing
“Now that we are entering into a longer term phase of this, people are going to be concerned about the long-term chronic exposure that comes at lower levels,” said Karen Dannemiller, a professor at The Ohio State University who studies indoor air quality.
She told East Palestine residents that they should take part in the EPA’s air screening because indoor spaces can be an important point of exposure.
Dannemiller recommends residents to wipe down surfaces, especially areas that collect dust, and wash items that absorb smells, such as bed sheets and curtains. She encourages vacuuming in short bouts to keep pollutants out of the air.
A mechanical issue with a rail car axle is suspected to be the cause of the derailment, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it has video appearing to show a wheel bearing overheating just beforehand. The initial report from theNTSC will be in about two weeks.
The wheelset will be analyzed as part of the investigation. Investigators will return to complete an examination of the tank cars once they are fully decontaminated, the NTSB said.
The NTSB said it is reviewing other videos, too, including footage from two local businesses reported by local media to show glowing or flames from the train prior to the derailment.
Authorities responding to the crash grew concerned that cars carrying vinyl chloride were at risk of a catastrophic explosion. The officials decided to set off a controlled explosion instead of sending a large black cloud of smoke over the town.
State and Local Sheriff’s Office Constraints on Waterways Close to a Trapped Railroad Wrench and Implications for Water Consumption
“There is something fundamentally wrong when a train like this could come into a state and the current law does not require, despite what they were hauling, does not require them to notify the state or local officials,” DeWine said. The law that requires the railroad company to make notification about trains that don’t qualify is absurd.
Tiffany Kavalec is the chief of the Division of Surface Water at the Ohio EPA and she states that no vinylchloride is detected in any of the waterways close to the train wreck. The agency is confident that the contaminants are contained, even though some waterways remain contaminated.
Testing from a few wells that supply the system showed no trace of harmful organisms and the water was declared safe to drink, the governor’s office said.
The governor said a chemical plume of butyl acrylate in the Ohio River is currently located near Gallipolis, Ohio, and will be near Huntington, West Virginia, sometime tomorrow. The CDC considers the chemical hazardous, but tests show it is currently below that threshold. Agencies will continue sampling the river water out of an abundance of caution, though no vinyl chloride has been detected.
The chemicals are a “contaminant plume” that the Ohio EPA and other agencies have been tracking in real time. It’s believed to be moving about a mile an hour, Kavalec said.
The “tracking allows for potential closing of drinking water intakes to allow the majority of the chemicals to pass. This strategy, along with drinking water treatment…are both effective at addressing these contaminants and helps ensure the safety of the drinking water supplies,” Kavalec said, adding that they’re pretty confident that the “low levels” of contaminants that remain are not getting passed onto customers.
Still, authorities are strongly recommending that people in the area use bottled water for drinking, especially if their water is from a private source, such as a well.
How the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Described the Accident-Site Derailment as “Breaking and Destruction” of an Excursion-Rich Railroad Engine
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates the spill affected more than seven miles (11.2 kilometers) of streams and killed some 3,500 fish, mostly small ones such as minnows and darters.
The estimation of dead fish was done after initial testing and sampling by the state agency. Since the first couple of days after the train derailed, there seems to have been no increase in the number of fish killed.
Some of the pits of dirt that have been dug up measure about 700 feet long and 8 feet deep, Kurt Kollar, the on-scene coordinator for the Ohio EPA’s Office of Emergency Response, said.
Despite Velez’s experience, air quality does not appear to be the source of headaches and sore throats among people or deaths of animals such as cats and chickens in and around the derailment zone, Ohio Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said Tuesday.
“Anecdotes are challenging because they are anecdotes.” “Everything that we’ve gathered thus far is really pointing toward very low measurements, if at all.”
An overwhelming smell of chlorine filled the air this week and was so bad it burnt his throat and eyes.
Representatives of the train’s operator, Norfolk Southern, did not attend the community meeting Wednesday, citing safety concerns after it said employees were threatened, further escalating tensions.
The company stated in a release that it is concerned about the increasing threat to employees and community members around this event stemming from the involvement of outside parties.
The release reads that company officials wanted to join local leaders Wednesday evening to inform the community of the steps they are taking to clean up the accident site.
A community meeting still was expected to go forward Wednesday evening, and plaintiff’s attorneys invited residents to meet with them beforehand to discuss the derailment’s impact.
How well did Norfolk Southern clean up the East Palestine site? A spokesperson for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency told CNN it is taking three months to remove contaminated soil from the site
The researcher at Michigan State University was part of that effort. In situations like the one in East Palestine, she says, it’s important for authorities and health providers to use a trauma-informed response. She says that the whole community has gone through trauma. “Anxiety is negatively impacting their health. That’s something that folks on the ground have to be cognizant of” when interacting with residents.
“My wife is a nurse and is not taking any chances exposing us and our two young children to whatever is now in our town,” Velez wrote on Facebook. It is not worth the risk to try and live in our own home again.
Still, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency encourages residents who get water from private wells to get those wells tested, because those wells may be closer to the surface than the municipal wells, the governor’s office said.
A spokesperson for the company said “some soil is moved around” during the initial response phase. The company is removing soil at the site.
Typically, cleanup overseen by the EPA is a slow process. The process is subject to negotiations between the agency and the party responsible for the clean up. “Even just deciding on the remedy of what we’re going to do with the site can sometimes take three to five years,” Sachs said.
The documents posted by the EPA show that Norfolk Southern has not removed potentially contaminated soil from the site. Norfolk Southern tells CNN it continues to work to clean up the site, including the removal of soil.
Richard Peltier, an environmental health scientist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, told CNN that contaminated soil will be a problem for many years to come. “Every time it rains, a flood of new contaminants will enter the ecosystem.”
CNN asked Norfolk Southern if the contaminated soil had been filled in in order to open the rail line.
Ben Ratner, 39, of East Palestine, and the Norfolk Southern Emergency Medical Center, where EPA and residents are concerned about the risk of environmental degradation
Ben Ratner, who is from East Palestine, told CNN that his family was concerned about the risks that environmental officials are only beginning to assess.
Ben, a business owner in a few towns, said the people who played extras in the disaster film still feel like they are in a movie.
He said it was difficult to make an investment in something that might not have any value in the future. “That’s something tough to come to grips with.”
Norfolk Southern said it was establishing a $1 million charitable fund to help the community of East Palestine.
Velez and his family are temporarily staying in rentals away from the town. He told CNN that on Monday, when he visited the town, his eyes and throat burned due to a chemical odor.
“The community is now exposed to a mixture of numerous petroleum-based volatile organic compounds, so it may not just be one, it could be the mixture of them,” Haynes said.
The EPA says residents may smell odors from the site as a result of the low odor threshold that comes with the controlled burn.
The Ratner-Vereza-Vez Crisis: Finding a Solution to the City’s Environmental Concerns with a Public Air Quality Test
Ben Ratner said the family is limiting its water use because of unknown affects. Velez worries “every time we turn the water on or give my daughter a bath could potentially be hazardous,” he wrote on Facebook.
He and his family have been Airbnb-hopping 30 minutes from their home since they evacuated, but rental options and their finances are running out, he said, and a friend set up a GoFundMe to help the family.
Many of us residents are stuck in the same situation, and the sad truth is that there is no answer. “There is no viable solution other than to leave and pay a mortgage on a potentially worthless home.”
Hundreds of worried people were gathered to hear state officials tell them that the local air is safe to breathe and that safety testing would continue as long as necessary.
The railroad operator, Norfolk Southern, did not attend the meeting because of safety concerns, but residents wanted more transparency from them.
Wednesday’s meeting came amid continuing concerns about the huge plumes of smoke, persisting odors, questions over potential threats to pets and wild animals, any potential impact on drinking water and what was happening with cleanup.
The East Palestine Railroad Firefighter’s Advocate: A Reply to Mayor Yost and the Commission on Environmental and Public Safety Concerning the Norfolk Southern Train Accident
“Why are they being hush-hush?” Kathy said about the railroad. “They’re not out here supporting, they’re not out here answering questions. For three days we didn’t even know what was on the train.”
People living near the state line of East Palestine want to know if the Railroad will be held responsible for what happened after hundreds of families were evacuated.
In a letter to the company, Yost states that the pollution in the area has created a nuisance, damage to natural resources, and caused environmental harm.
“We have been paying for the clean-up activities to date and will continue to do so. We are committed to thoroughly and safely cleaning the site, and we are reimbursing residents for the disruption this has caused in their lives. We are investing in helping East Palestine thrive for the long-term, and we will continue to be in the community for as long as it takes. We are going to learn from this terrible accident and work with regulators and elected officials to improve railroad safety.”
The administrator of the EPA visited East Palestine to assess the response to the Norfolk Southern train wreck. The administrator meets with city, state, and federal leaders involved in the response, hearing directly from residents about the impacts of the crisis and discuss EPA’s work.
According to Administrator Michael S. Regan, the agency has the authority to use enforcement over the crisis.
The agency and the federal government will be sure to hold this company accountable, according to Regan.
The East Palestine Water Flare After a Train Derailed February 3. The Ohio Department of Agriculture and Environment (DOD-OHIO) Helps Plan for Emergency Response
After assurances that the water was safe, a chemical odor lingered for days and officials estimate thousands of fish were dead because of the contaminated water.
Hundreds of East Palestine residents attended a town hall to express their anger. The train operator said they would attend, but later decided to pull out because of safety concerns.
As scrutiny mounts over the federal response, the Administrator of the EPA will visit an area near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border to mark the opening of a new center where residents can meet with EPA and other agencies’ representatives to learn more about support services.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services to send teams to East Palestine, where the train derailed February 3 and sparked a dayslong blaze.
In case of rain, emergency response teams will be in place to prevent the pollutants from washing into local waterways, DeWine said in a statement.
DeWine said the Ohio Department of Agriculture continues to assure Ohioans that its food supply is safe and the risk to livestock remains low following the train derailment.
The Ohio Train Derailment East Palestine Tuesday Meeting: Mayor Trent Conaway and the Interaction between a Bombardment and a Toxic Tank
“There (were) two options: We either detonate those tanks, or they detonate themselves,” Mayor Trent Conaway told a group of reporters at Wednesday’s meeting. Toxic chemicals went into the air. I apologize, but we had only one option. If we didn’t do that, then they were going to blow up, and we were going to have shrapnel all across this town.”
Conaway told reporters that he needed help. I have the village on my back and I will do whatever is necessary to make this right. I’m not leaving or going somewhere.
A man who lives half a mile from the train crash told CNN that the absence of the company from the meeting was a slap in the face.
“Most people did not want to go home, but they had to. So, all the people who had to go home were complaining of smells, pains in their throat, headaches, sickness,” he said. “I have gone back a few times, and the smell does make you sick. It hurts your head.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-thursday/index.html
The dangers of an East Palestine township where a train derailed after the air testing: Jami Cozza tells CNN that the railroad company is safe to return home
“I was extremely disappointed that they didn’t show up at the town hall meeting last night. He said the public deserves transparency. The public should be aware of the latest information. It is our job as the federal government, to hold this company accountable, and I promise you that we will.
Jami Cozza, an East Palestine resident who attended the meeting and was vocal about the issues her family have been facing since the train derailed, said she will not return home until it’s safe. Cozza told CNN that she is staying at a hotel paid for by the train company due to toxicity in her home.
Cozza told Don Lemon that the railroad company said it was safe to return to her hometown after the air testing. She told the railroad company to conduct soil and water tests, and then a toxicologist concluded that her house was unsafe.
“Had I not used my voice, had I not thrown a fit, I would be sitting in that house right now, when they told me that it was safe,” Cozza said Thursday, adding she’s worried that not all residents are receiving the proper level of testing.
She’s worried that a lot of the kids are laying in their bed in East Palestine because they’re not safe. I don’t trust them.
The Biden administration said it has deployed federal medical experts to help assess what dangers remain at an Ohio village where a train carrying hazardous materials derailed this month, a ramp-up of federal support at the governor’s request as anxious residents point to signs of adverse effects.
“This request for medical experts includes, but is not limited to, physicians and behavioral health specialists,” DeWine wrote in a letter to the CDC. Some community members have already seen a physician but are still concerned about their health effects and are not going to see a doctor again.
A White House Statement on the Biden Administration’s Support of the Ohio-Pennsylvania State Line and the Cleveland-State Train Accident
The Biden administration approved the request and began deploying teams from both federal agencies in part for public health testing and assessments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.
That is in addition to aid the Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing, according to Jean-Pierre, who noted Thursday that the train derailment situation is “much more expansive” than what FEMA can offer.
The federal support boost to a community of some 5,000 people along the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line comes amid some residents’ growing concerns that some areas may not be safe to live in.
On Thursday, the head of the federal Environmental Agency Administration visited East Palestine and made it a point to assure residents that the agency has their backs.
“Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted,” Regan said. Norfolk Southern will not get off the hook for creating the mess that they did.
The head of the national transportation safety board said Thursday that investigators were working hard to find out what caused the train crash in Ohio.
At around 8:12 p.m. on February 3, sparks from an apparent wheel bearing overheating were visible as the train passed through Salem, Ohio, two surveillance videos obtained by CNN show. Bright light and sparks are seen emanating from one of the rail cars.
The public was urged not to speculate about the cause of the crash by Homendy, who works for an agency that is responsible for investigating transportation crashes.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway discusses the February 6 detonations: “Your house is a door to the railroad tracks going right by my house”
During an intense community town hall meeting Wednesday in a high school gym, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway addressed the February 6 controlled detonations, saying the only option was to release the chemicals manually or risk greater danger to residents.
The company promised to make $1,000 payments to people who lived within a mile of the spill. But the company has since decided to pay each resident in the entire 44413 ZIP code that money, a spokesman for the company told CNN.
Lennington, 75, attended area schools from elementary to high school. And before striking out as a writer late in life, she worked for more than three decades in factories a stone’s throw from East Palestine. The community is an hour from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and 30 minutes from the Rust Belt city of Yancy, Ohio.
The railroad tracks go right by here. The train tracks are visible from our house. They run right by my home to go into the center of East Palestine.
The aftermath of the Collision of a Trapped Gauge Boson from James Street in Salinas, Puerto Rico, USA
The cloud that went up in the sky was like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life. It looked like there was a tornado coming down from the black cloud. It was just awful. We put blankets over the doors and windows after the accident to protect them from further damage.
I can still smell it. The fumes are not strong here but I can feel my eyes burning even if I go from the house to the garage. I no longer have a voice after a while.
Officials ordered a shelter-in-place for the entire town. An evacuation order is issued for the area within a mile radius of the train crash near James Street, due to the risk of an explosion.
When I Was a Factory Worker: Writing a Story for a Dad Who Was Working, and When I Got a Call from a Publisher
Lennington: I worked for 38 years in a factory on an assembly line. The first factory I worked in had fireproof security boxes. I was a welder there. I met all kinds of people. When I retired, I was stuck because I heard so many stories.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. My husband was still working, but I was retired. I started writing a story for him. He would come home on nights and read my first book, maybe five or six pages. He said after it was done that you have to publish it.
I told you that I am not a college professor. I am a factory worker. I can not publish a book. But he said you have to. On Friday I sent the file to four publishers and on Monday I got a call from a publisher.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/opinions/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-author-qa-griffith/index.html
Why people don’t go to a motel? Lennington: What did people tell you when you left, or when you didn’t
And over time, people just started leaving. Young people stayed behind when their parents died. They all moved away because there wasn’t any work here.
You know, there are no homeless people on our streets, no hypodermic needles lying about, and our citizens opened up their own independent businesses and have kept this community going. All of the neighbors watch out for the next.
It really breaks my heart to see the community going through this, because they feel like nobody’s really listening to them. Many people feel like they can’t trust anyone, which is why they are so angry.
Lennington: If you took the money, you’re not going to get anything down the road. People were questioning if this was true. Do we believe this?”
A lot of money to a few people. But my sister for one, she didn’t go to a motel. The people in town don’t have credit cards. When they evacuate, they’re told they have to go to a motel. The motel doesn’t care what the railroads are telling you, so they want money upfront. And people in this town don’t always have that.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/opinions/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-author-qa-griffith/index.html
Lennington: Why the rail companies should take care of the passengers’ feelings about it? An opinion on a possible analogy between the public perception of transportation and media coverage
Lennington: I think the media will make a difference in how the citizens feel about it. They will feel like they are heard and that they have not been brushed under the rug.
Everyone’s scared. They had a normal life, but were told to grab what they could and get out. And then they were told, well, you can go back and you’re on your own. That is not right. I think they (the rail company) owe these people something.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/opinions/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-author-qa-griffith/index.html
When I Was There, My Dad and I Came Down to Live with Me and My Husband. What Happens When I Come Down and Tell Me That I Am There?
I retired at 62 because I was afraid of the chemicals. I thought they were dangerous. My husband did the same thing. My father lived here on the farm. When he got cancer, I came down here and stayed with him and started taking care of him. My husband and I decided to move here after he died. We tried to keep it chemical-free. And then we have this train wreck.
I do not know what is going to happen. Is it safe to let your children go out and walk in that grass? Is it safe to let your pets go to the bathroom on the grass and then come back in your house? If your water is safe, what about those ponds where the train wreck is? There are little standing ponds on both sides of the tracks there. Did anyone check the water? We just don’t know.
A week ago, we went for a ride through town, and then took some side streets, and talked about how many homes were for sale in town. The accident happened before that.
Now, what hope is there for those people selling those homes? And what if you are a person who worked like I did for 38 years in a factory, and you were going to sell your home as part of your retirement. What happens now?
A young girl who is afraid to go out of school after a derailment complains about air quality? Amanda Greathouse and her son’s mother have two children, but she is afraid they will go home
Residents were given the all-clear to return to their homes February 8 after air monitoring in East Palestine did not detect any elevated chemicals of concern.
“When we went back on the 10th, that’s when we decided that we couldn’t raise our kids here,” Amanda Greathouse said. The smell was so strong that it reminded me of hair perming solution.
Greathouse, who has two preschool-age children, had a rash on her arm and eyes after she and her family left.
Greathouse said the smell was so strong it made him sick. I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible. I only took a few pieces of clothes because even the clothes smelled like chemicals, and I’m afraid to put them on my kids.”
She says she’s also kept her children out of preschool since the derailment. The teacher promised that students were using only bottled water and that she was worried about other types of contamination.
“I don’t want to take my son out of the preschool they’re in because I really like the teachers he has, but I’m still scared. Some teachers are concerned about the air quality.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/health/ohio-derailment-rashes-health-impacts/index.html
Long-term exposure to toxic compounds in East Palestine is unsafe, and how to use the information collected by the EPA, the Ohio State University and the IRB
We’re very fortunate that we own a home. I did not think I would say that. I cannot risk my family’s health because I feel awful for my landlord.
Meanwhile, the EPA and state officials will continue to monitor East Palestine’s air and water for contaminants as part of a “human health risk assessment.” Over the course of several years, that will happen said Karen Danne Miller, professor of environmental health science at the Ohio State University.
One problem that the Texas A&M researchers see is that residents don’t understand what’s going on. Rusyn says that it isn’t clear whether agencies have taken the effects of long-term exposure into account when stating that a chemical level is safe.
The volatile organic compounds released by the controlled explosion can cause symptoms similar to those reported by some East Palestine residents, including headache, sore throat, and nose and eye irritation, but experts say it’s extremely difficult to connect chemical exposures to health effects.
Haynes, who has experience investigating toxic exposures in communities, says she is seeking approval from her university’s Institutional Review Board to start a study in East Palestine to help give residents more information on their chemical exposures in air, water and soil.
People in East Palestine who are suffering from chemical poisoning, poison control, and the evacuation of a three-year-old girl over the state line in Pennsylvania
She said they need all the help they can get. “This is a major emergency. This is a disaster that will hurt a lot. They need all the assistance that we all can provide.
“How safe is it, really?” said DeSanzo, who lives about half a mile from the derailment with her two grade-school-age children. It is not in their heads that they are having the pinkeye or the rash from all the chemicals.
After the derailment, DeSanzo evacuated with her kids just over the state line in Pennsylvania, where her uncle had an empty duplex. The people were sleeping on the couch and floor.
DeSanzo says that when she came home this week she aired out her house, changed her furnace filter and washed their sheets and clothes. Even so, she says, they all recently went to a local immediate care clinic because her kids were coughing, and “our throats were raw.”
The doctor said she had seen a number of East Palestine residents with similar symptoms, DeSanzo said, and advised them to call poison control and go to the local hospital for a blood test. She hasn’t gotten the blood test yet.
Debbie Pietrzak, a spokesperson for Salem Regional Medical Center, which runs the clinic DeSanzo went to, confirmed that it has treated a small number of residents with symptoms like sore throats and respiratory problems. The hospital’s emergency room has seen fewer than 10 patients from East Palestine, she said.
The facilities and primary care providers that we have are ready to help any one who is in need. Pietrzak said that we are working closely with the Health Department and other agencies which are monitoring the situation.
Poison Control centers in Ohio are getting calls from people in East Palestine, said Natalie Rine, who directs the Central Ohio Poison Center. Experts who staff the help lines are trained in toxicology and can help if chemicals are a health concern.
An Empirical Study of Chemical Sensitivities in a Class of High-Antenna Families. A Yale University Student Case Study
DeSanzo says she wants to leave but can’t afford to. Half of the homes she has found in the area far away from the accident site have a mortgage of less than $400 a month.
Ayla says her daughters are staying with her parents in Leetonia, about 20 minutes west of East Palestine, until the couple is able to make sure their home is safe.
“I did allow my 4-year-old to return to preschool, which is in the East Palestine Elementary School. Ayla pulled her back out because she developed a rash on her hands after returning for two days.
It is the right thing to do, according to Dr. Kari Nakeau, an Allergist and Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard.
“There are people that are highly sensitive to chemicals and can feel it before necessarily a monitor can pick it up,” Nadeau said. There isn’t a great diagnostic pathway for chemical sensitivities. It’s often related to clinical symptoms, including the rash.
Nadeau and other environmental health experts advise people who are having symptoms to see a health care provider, primarily for medical care but also so their case can be documented.
“So that if there is a cluster, or if there’s a group of people that all of a sudden have complained about a rash or given symptoms, that really helps doctors come together with institutions like the CDC and do a little bit more fact-finding,” she said.
Exposure to toxic chemical mixtures in East Palestine: An Ohio state official at a health clinic following the February 3 crash site of a Norfolk Southern freight train
Reflecting the fundamental mistrust residents have in the railroad company Norfolk Southern and the government, Ms. Guglielmo is one of several people who live in the region who are seeking independent tests or are looking for ways to conduct their own.
But Ms. Guglielmo and others, particularly on the outskirts of East Palestine near where the train collided, continue to report a lingering stench of chemicals in some parts of town and have found little comfort in the assurances in light of the rashes and headaches they have experienced.
The threat of possible long-term exposure to the chemical cocktail released into the air and water, coupled with a deep fear that the town and its neighboring villages will be forgotten in the coming months, has also left many residents feeling as if they are on their own to prove that it is safe to remain or return through means that include paying out of pocket for their own tests. Two weeks ago, some had no idea how the chemical compounds would affect them today.
The Ohio state is opening a health clinic for the community of East Palestine on Tuesday as worry and frustration persists, two weeks after the fiery derailing of a train carrying toxic chemicals.
An EPA official who spoke to CNN said that Michael Regan will visit the town on Tuesday to meet with residents and local and state officials.
The visit comes as skepticism and anxiety spread in the small town of 5,000 while reports mount of rashes, headaches, nausea and other symptoms that residents fear could be related to the February 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train and crews’ subsequent release of the toxic chemical vinyl chloride from the wreck.
As work progresses at the crash site, the EPA will continue to monitor air quality in order to keep an eye on it.
“We should never say we’re done looking at this community for potential exposures and health impacts. Some may not occur until later,” said Haynes, adding that anyone experiencing health symptoms should take them seriously and call the poison control center.
The Ohio River Intake Valve Shutdown after the Maysville Utilities Exit from the Kentucky Agricultural Trajectory, according to the Environmental Protection Agency
Two of the places where fish were found dead had booms and dams put in, according to the EPA.
When the toxic chemicals released into the river from the train wreck were expected to reach the water treatment intakes in Kentucky, Maysville Utilities shut off the intakes from the Ohio River.
Julian said water measurements have been below the level of concern and that Maysville Utilities took precautionary measures in temporarily shutting down their Ohio River intake valve due to the public concern.
Meanwhile, the majority of the hazardous rail cars remain at the crash site as investigators continue to probe the wreck, but about 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been removed from the scene, Norfolk Southern announced Monday.
The soil under the railroad tracks had not been dealt with and that has caused a concern for citizens, according to DeWine. The administrator ordered that the soil be removed. So the tracks will have to be taken up and that soil will have to be removed.”
Some local business say they have seen less customers despite the calls to return to normal life because of doubt about the safety of the air and water.
The salon lost business and the stylist told the station that customers may be worried about what is in the water washing their hair.
People don’t want to come here and that is a huge problem for our businesses.
Peter Buttigieg, President and CEO of the East Palestine Railroad Company, a long-term environmental impact advocate for safety and environmental regulations after the railroad accident
Pete Buttigieg, the US Transportation Secretary, called for increased safety regulations after the toxic train crash.
The community of East Palestine worried about health effects from the toxic materials released from the derailed freight cars, as crews were still working to respond to the disaster.
If there is a second phase to the clean-up, it will take longer than the first. If that happens, the normal, lengthier process would come into play, experts said. The EPA and Norfolk Southern would then have to negotiate over an agreement to remediate the longer-term contamination.
“We understand that we have a responsibility and we are committed to doing what is right for the people of East Palestine,” the railroad said. We are reimbursing people for the disruption they have experienced because of the site’s thorough and safe cleaning.
The company has committed $6 million to East Palestine, which includes financial assistance to families impacted by the accident.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, CEO Alan Shaw responded to criticism from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, saying the company invests more than $1 billion a year in “science-based” safety solutions, including maintaining tracks, equipment and technology.
Shaw said it was clear that safety culture and investments did not prevent the accident. We need to examine what we can do differently and what we can do better.
The Norfolk Southern Disaster: Gov. Josh Shapiro explains why the EPA ordered the cleanup at the Ohio-Pennsylvania border
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro praised the EPA for taking charge of the cleanup from the crash, which took place less than a mile from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
Shaw declined to comment on potential causes during the CNBC interview. Norfolk Southern is fully cooperating with investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration.
“This is really in response to the concerns that we have heard, that people want to be able to go someplace and get some answers about any kind of medical problems that they believe that they are, in fact, having,” he said.
President Biden said the EPA order was common sense. This is their mess. They should clean it up,” the president said of Norfolk Southern in an Instagram post.
“I know this order cannot undo the nightmare that families in this town have been living with. Norfolk Southern has caused a lot of pain and it will start to deliver justice.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is furious with Norfolk Southern, telling NPR on Wednesday that it had “given the middle finger to the good people of Pennsylvania and Ohio” in the way it had handled its response. He said authorities on his side of the border would also monitor water.
The East Palestine train wreck: Why the Norfolk Southern Company shouldn’t be rushed into action after the February 13, 2015, train accident, and what public health concerns can be addressed
In order to quell fears about the safety of the tap water, a toast was given by Regan and DeWine to a resident of East Palestine, Ohio.
The train operator was accused by the governor of giving inaccurate information to officials and refused to explore or articulate alternative courses of action after the wreck.
“In sum, Norfolk Southern injected unnecessary risk into this crisis,” Shapiro said, adding he plans to hold the company accountable for their actions.
Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said that his company has been aligned with the EPA and local efforts on the ground in East Palestine since the train derailment.
Shaw’s company has conducted hundreds of tests, all of which have come back clean, and continued to monitor air and water quality.
Concerns about potential long-term health effects from the crash have added to the controversy surrounding the disposal of toxic waste that happened in February.
President Biden called on Congress to help implement rail safety measures and accused the Trump administration of limiting the government’s ability to strengthen rail safety measures.
This is more than a train wreck or a toxic waste spill, it is years of opposition to safety precautions coming home to roost, according to Biden.
East Palestine is a village of 5000 struggling to understand the consequences from a freight train wreck and burn-off of toxic vinylchloride.
Still, as worries remain, the state opened a new health clinic for East Palestine residents to address the reports of rashes, headaches, nausea and other symptoms.
Why are so many people feeling unsafe in their homes, and what are they saying about the chemical fires in East Palestine, Ohio, where thousands of families live and work
Asked about the reported symptoms, the EPA administrator said Tuesday that he’s “not discounting what people are experiencing” and asked anyone concerned to seek medical attention.
People say they are facing adverse impacts. And what we’re doing is we’re asking them to seek medical attention … then we can take that information and add that as part of our response,” Regan said. We don’t discounts what people areExperiencing at all. We just ask that they seek medical help while we conduct all of our investigations.”
“We need our town cleaned up, we need our residents to feel safe in their homes,” Conaway said at Tuesday news conference. The number one thing is that. Your home is your sanctuary: if you don’t feel safe in your home, then you’re never going to feel safe anywhere.”
“I don’t want to give up — I don’t want to walk away,” she said recently, keeping an eye on a nearby bubbling vat of maple sap in her yard. But as she ran through the questions she had about planting a garden, eating the fruit from her trees and letting her horses drink from the nearby creek in the wake of the chemical burn, Ms. Mibuck conceded: “I don’t feel completely safe doing that. I hate that.”
The Norfolk Southern freight train careened off the tracks this month and left a heap of carnage on the outskirts of East Palestine,Ohio, a small town of 4,700 people where generations of families were able to buy acres of land and raise horses. Although farming provides only a small number of jobs in the immediate area, many residents say that raising livestock and working the land are profoundly important to their way of life.
Through a long global pandemic, national political tensions and the stress of inflation, the land, the water and the fresh air had been a source of comfort and safety. Many people have lost faith in the region as a result of the chemical threat. The EPA said that substances were released into the air, surface water and surface soil.
Identifying a Derailed Train Point in East Palestine with the Pennsylvania Well and the Public Water System: Nicholas Proia, an Internal Medicine Pulmonologist
Who is he? Nicholas Proia is a clinical professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, near East Palestine, and is a pulmonologist.
What are the people saying? Proia said pulmonary doctors in the area were bracing for a rise in patients after the derailment and controlled burn, but that he hadn’t experienced it.
We haven’t seen a lot of respiratory illness come in. What we have heard, mostly through the media, and a few patients will say, perhaps a rash or a foul smell. But really no overt shortness of breath, or respiratory failure has been connected to this.
It is caveat to remember that you will only find what you are looking for. And who knows what else is out there, especially after a large fire with a bunch of different, pretty interesting chemicals.
I’ve authorized testing of all of the wells on the Pennsylvania side and the public water system to ensure that local residents have the comfort of knowing what’s coming out of the tap is safe. We are going to continue to measure for months or years, even if we don’t see any troubling readings yet.
A one-mile walk around the outside of the hot zone by the National Transportation Safety Board helps to identify the point of a derailed train. The report is expected to be finished in four to eight weeks.
A Train Driver in East Palestine, Victims of a Cleveland Accident, Reveals He Feels Like He is Failing to Sleep
Jim Stewart, who has lived in East Palestine for more than six decades, said the wreck burned down his dreams of retiring soon and selling his house, adding he worries what the home’s value now looks like. He said he’s afraid to take his dog out, because of the strong stench, and wonders if he’ll be able to plant his tomatoes during the summer, after officials said the soil was also contaminated by chemicals.
The train was traveling between Alliance, Ohio, and Salem, Ohio at a top speed of 49 miles per hour but then slowed to only 35 miles per hour between Salem and East Palestine.
Courtney Newman, a mother and teacher in East Palestine, said since her family returned home, her son has had “bloody noses every day,” and she has had “skin issues.”
The resident said he is staying at a hotel because he doesn’t feel safe going home, and he had to go to the emergency department on Tuesday because of symptoms like headaches, dizziness and blood from his nose.
“We’re getting everything we need, except answers,” East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said Wednesday. We don’t have answers as to the health concerns.
During the town hall, the governor of Ohio made it very clear that he did not want to minimize any medical issues that may be linked to the train accident.
Medical teams from the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services will also be on the ground this week at DeWine’s request, he said Friday.
Residents who are worried about their symptoms being linked to the wreck can see the health assessment clinic. According to the Ohio Department of Health the clinic includes mental health professionals and they can give residents referrals.
East Palestine is not on the EPA’s List of Highest-Priority Clean-up Sites: A Community Leader’s Perspective
“We’re going to get the clean-up right, we’re going to reimburse the citizens, we’re going to invest in the long term health of this community,” Shaw said. “I’m going to see this through, and we’re going to be here. And we’re going to work with these community leaders to help you thrive.”
It’s worth noting that many contaminated sites never reach a state in which the cleanup is considered complete. Of the nearly 1,800 hazardous waste sites that have ever been included on the EPA’s list of highest-priority cleanup sites, only about 450 have been cleaned up to the extent to which they could be removed from the list. East Palestine is not on this list and may never be.
“Since I (got) home from evacuating, I’m still not using the water because I never know if … they’re telling the truth or it’s a lie,” resident Nene Stewart said during the town hall. I drink bottled water. I can’t. I’m not trusting what they’re saying. I don’t know who’s telling the truth.”
Three aeration pumps begin to operate along Sulphur Run. Aeration oxidizes the water. The East Palestine water treatment plant confirms there was no adverse effects to the plant, the EPA says. EPA and Norfolk Southern contractors collect surface water samples for analysis.
Public Safety Efforts in the Army, Air and Water Monitoring, and a Case Study for a Train Derailment Timeline
The 52nd Civil Service Team conducts air monitoring in three public administration buildings and collects air samples from each building, according to the EPA.
The EPA says it is investigating a complaint of odors from the Darlington Township, Pennsylvania, fire station. A team with air monitoring equipment goes to the station, where it does not observe any contaminants above detection limits.
The EPA and Ohio EPA find spilled materials. Oily product is leaking from a tank car and pooling onto the soil. Norfolk Southern is notified of the spill and begins removing the product using a vacuum truck.
Despite officials deeming the air and water samples safe, some residents still have concerns. At a press conference, officials encourage residents to get their homes cleaned and seek assistance if they need it.
EPA is assisting with voluntary residential air screening appointments offered by Norfolk Southern, the agency says. In the past 6 months, crews have screened indoor air at 46 homes. There are over 400 requests for indoor air screening remaining.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-timeline/index.html
The State of East Palestine: Reports on the EPA, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Attorney General’s Office on a Train Derailment
Residents of East Palestine are going to meet with officials at a high school gym to discuss the current state of the community, CNN reports.
The local leaders took questions from the residents who were angry and distrusted of officials, including the transportation company’s cancellation of the event.
Regional Administrator Debra Shore attends a community meeting alongside EPA on-scene coordinators and state and local officials to hear residents’ concerns.
The water in the city is safe to drink, according to a press release from the governor. The state says the well results show no water quality concerns.
The results of the municipal well water samples show no water quality concerns according to the EPA. The Columbiana County General Health District is continuing to sample private water wells. The agency says that fifty-one wells have been tested in Ohio, and three in Pennsylvania.
• Reimburse the EPA for cleaning services to be offered to residents and businesses to provide an additional layer of reassurance, which will be conducted by EPA staff and contractors,
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office says it will investigate the train derailment following a criminal referral it received from the state department of environmental protection, according to a statement from the office.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-timeline/index.html
On the Truth About the Pittsburgh-Carolina Fires That Derailed Three Weeks After the Irregular Train Collision
“Number two: They will pay for it – fully pay for it. If they refuse to help, we will do the cleaning ourselves. We can fine them up to $70,000 a day,” the EPA chief said.
When we recover our costs, we can charge them three times the cost of the federal government. That is what the law provides.”
The chapter director of the Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club is Ericka Copeland. The views are not those of her employer. There are more opinions on CNN.
The people of East Palestine are still waiting for the truth three weeks after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caused a fire.
And while the accident has received reams of press coverage, people who live in East Palestine have said that their complaints about rashes, headaches and other ailments they believe are linked to the disaster have been ignored.
But a memo from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection and its Department of Health advised residents that vacuuming inside their homes “may cause chemicals that have settled on floors and surfaces to become airborne, which could cause inhalation concerns” — guidance which is confusing and even scary.
The residents of Ohio say they have no idea how to clean the interiors of their homes.
Health Implications of the East Palestine, Ohio, Toxicity Train Debris for Environmental and Environmental Protection Public Safety and Public Works Responsibilities
As the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency makes his third trip to East Palestine, Ohio, scientists warn higher-than-normal chemical readings around the site of this month’s toxic train derailment might portend long-term health problems for those exposed.
More recent tests by ORSANCO indicate that butyl acrylate is no longer being detected, probably due to dilation and chemical breakdown, as it is well known for being volatile. The water tests suggest that levels are below the limit. Vinyl chloride and volatile chemicals weren’t found in the river samples.
Here’s something else that gives me pause: health impacts on the residents of East Palestine, which may not be evident today, but could surface in time.
Eric Beckman is a professor of chemical engineering in the University of Pittsburgh and co- founder of the Mascaro Center for sustainable innovation.
The governor has yet to issue a disaster declaration. The spokesman for the governor said he might revisit the idea if there are circumstances that warrant it. Residents of East Palestine who are exposed to toxic chemicals are forced to pay out of pocket for hotel lodgings while he delays his decision.
The community of East Palestine needs our support right now — as do other affected towns downstream, and communities across our nation through which trains carrying highly volatile hazardous chemicals will continue to run until robust safety measures are put in place.
These communities were unprepared for this disaster. Every person living in this country, regardless of zip code, income or race, has the right to live safely in their communities without the risk of toxic chemicals polluting their air, water and soil.
That should be the case when their community is used as a conduit for the movement of cargo on hundreds of miles of railway tracks.
The shipments of contaminated liquid and soil from the toxic train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, will resume Monday despite some concern about the movement of the waste.
The contaminated waste that had been shipped to two EPA-approved sites in Ohio was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency over the weekend.
The operator of the train was ordered to stop the shipment of the debris so the agency could review their plans for disposal after officials in Texas and Michigan complained that they did not know about the plan to send the waste to their states.
All aspects of the hazardous waste transportation and disposal will be overseen and monitored by federal, state, and local governments.
The mayor of East Liverpool, one of the towns set to incinerate the waste, expressed concerns about the process but said the EPA has assured him that everyone has been following necessary guidelines.
The Mayor is concerned that they have a 2-year-old daughter. “But, again, I think this is a state-of-the-art facility that can handle this type of waste.”
A spokesman for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said that so far the site has pulled about two million gallons of liquid waste and almost four thousand yards of solid waste.
I am aware that there are folks in other states that have legitimate concerns about how this waste is being transported and how it will be handled. EPA will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to use our longstanding experience and expertise in these matters to ensure the health and safety, and support the East Palestine community and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable,” Shore added.
There are federal teams going door-to-door to check in with the people of East Palestine, as anxiety remains, according to a White House official.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Observation of a Defect in a Private Well: No Evidence of Trace Detection
Officials say there is no evidence that the private wells were contaminated by the train wreck. According to DeWine’s office, there was no connection between the train wreck and thetrace detections at the wells.
A better understanding of the direction of the ground water flow in the area will be supported by the monitoring wells.
The rail cars that were at the site have been removed, according to an update by the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
So far, the investigation found the crew did not do anything wrong prior to the derailment, though the crash was “100% preventable,” Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the safety board, said last week.
Scientists from Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon universities analyzed the EPA’s pollutant measurement data and found that some of the chemicals were higher than would normally be found there.
If the levels of some chemicals remain high, it could pose a problem for residents’ health over time, the scientists said. High winds or temperature changes can stir up chemicals in the atmosphere.
Federal, state and local governments regulate and oversee the transportation and disposal of hazardous waste “from the moment trucks and railcars are loaded until the waste is safely disposed of,” said Debra Shore, the regional EPA administrator, in a Monday press conference.
Acrolein contamination at a freight rail facility in Roachdale, Indiana and Ross Incineration Services in Grafton, Ohio
Acrolein is used to control plants, algae, rodents and microorganisms. It is a clear liquid at room temperature and is toxic. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it can cause irritation of the skin and respiratory tract.
Albert Presto, an associate research professor of mechanical engineering at the school, said there was no need to evacuate the building because it was not elevated to the level of immediate health concern.
Now, two more sites – Heritage Environmental Services’ hazardous waste landfill in Roachdale, Indiana, and Ross Incineration Services in Grafton, Ohio – will receive contaminated waste starting Tuesday, Shore said Monday.
The cap on federal safety violations for rail companies should be raised, and the timetable for installing fortified tank cars should be sped up, according to Buttigieg.
He also called on the CEOs of major freight rail companies to “join a close-call reporting system that protects whistleblowers who spot issues that could lead to accidents.”
The advisory comes as all seven major freight rail companies in the United States, including Norfolk Southern, are expected to announce their participation in a voluntary safety reporting program, a Biden administration source told CNN Thursday.
Several of the tank cars had aluminum coverings meant to protect the valves and relieve pressure from tank cars to prevent damage, according to the PHMSA – a branch of the US Department of Transportation.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a Thursday update that it was looking closely at the aluminum protective covers that were used for three vinyl chloride tank cars that derailed.
The CEOs of companies were told by the end of the week to inform Pete Buttigieg if they joined the reporting system.
The agency, which has been probing what may have caused the derailment, has said it could issue urgent recommendations at any point during its investigation.
Dangerous dioxin levels in Norfolk Southern’s Clean-up of the East Palestine wreck by the U.S. Department of Environment and Public Works
The company, which has been ordered by the EPA to fully clean up the wreck, backed out of a town hall with local officials last month, citing threats against its employees.
The crews involved in the clean-up have also reported symptoms according to a letter on behalf of workers’ unions to Buttigieg and DeWine. CNN has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment on the letter.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Thursday the state will contract a third-party company to test the waste coming to his state for “dangerous levels of dioxins.” The sampling is going to start Friday, the governor said.
The process would involve removing one side of the tracks, digging out the contaminated soil, conducting sampling and then replacing the tracks, EPA response coordinator Mark Durno said.
The federal EPA said that it will require Norfolk Southern to perform a test for dioxins in East Palestine. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says that dioxins have toxicity and can cause disease.
A low chance for the release of dioxin from this incident will be suggested by the EPA’s sampling ofindicator chemicals.
She said that the levels detected in water samples were lower than the federal hazard level, but that they did not know whether there were long-term health effects. A health study currently underway may be able to help shed light on that, she said.
The Texas-Michigan East Palestine Derailment, Toxic-Waste Problem, and the Future of the U.S. Environmental Protection
The tangle worsened when the EPA halted removal operations by Norfolk Southern last weekend after officials in Texas and Michigan raised concerns about East Palestine waste being forwarded to their states.
More than 1.2 million gallons of contaminated firefighting water were sent to Texas Molecular outside of Houston. Over 350,000 gallons were shipped to the U.S. Ecology Romulus in Michigan and over 100,000 to a facility in Ohio. A large amount of soil was taken to a facility in Michigan. Yet more is destined for incinerators in Grafton and East Liverpool, Ohio, and a landfill in Roachdale, Ind.
Some new disposal sites for the East Palestine waste, including a landfill in Indiana, caused an objection from another state official. He said the materials should not be moved from the eastern side of Ohio to the western side of Indiana.
They will be living with this for a long time. And I don’t see any really quick return to normal,” said Noah Sachs, a professor of environmental law at the University of Richmond.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160481769/east-palestine-derailment-toxic-waste-cleanup
Regulations govern the transportation, storage and treatment of hazardous materials from the East Palestine derailment landfill site to the disposal facilities and incinerators
Most of the water collected so far has already been transported to disposal facilities, officials say. Much of the soil still remains stored on site, with more yet to be collected as crews prepare to remove railroad tracks in order to clear out more soil.
Regulations govern the handling of hazardous materials from the collection of the contaminated soil to its transportation away from the site to its long term storage and treatment at licensed facilities around the country.
She said that the requirements include proper waste labeling, packaging and handling, as well as requirements for shipping documents that provide information about the wastes and where they are going.
There are thousands of facilities that are licensed in every state to treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste. Not every waste can go to a facility. The type of waste and nature of the contamination can dictate whether waste is shipped to landfills, water treatment facilities or incinerators, for instance.
Another consideration is politics, Sachs said. Politician stepped in after East Palestine raised concerns from residents of other states.
This week, officials said that the sites did not have enough capacity to hold all of the hazardous waste from East Palestine.
The EPA was able to take advantage of the special emergency provision within the law that governs its authority because of theFkaFkaFkaFka of the railway derailing in East Palestine.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160481769/east-palestine-derailment-toxic-waste-cleanup
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Importance of Independent Research: An Empirical Analysis of the East Palestine acrolein after the Chemical Explosion
Instead of months-long planning sessions, the decisions on where and how waste is going to be taken will be made over days and weeks.
The finish line looks to return the community back to what it was before the trauma was inflicted, said the administrator of the EPA. “This is a longer-term process, but rest assured that we will be there until the job is finished.”
Independent researchers arrived on the scene to aid in the measurement and analyses. Others have been invited by residents who want a second opinion. Teams think they can fill gaps left by the authorities.
Ivan Rusyn is the director of the Texas A&M University Superfund Research Center in College Station and he says that the residents had a problem with symptoms and everyone told them everything was okay.
The EPA said that there were elevated levels of acrolein found in East Palestine but that they do not pose a health risk for the short term. The concentrations have since returned to levels that are below the national median.
In the first two weeks of an emergency response, it is important for the EPA to focus on short-term exposure concerns; and its work can transition to longer-term concerns as time goes on.
The official reports are difficult to interpret, even for scientists, says Nicole Karn, a chemist at the Ohio State University in Columbus. “There is already a lot of distrust among residents about whether the EPA is being honest, so agency officials have an uphill battle when it comes to regaining trust.”
The EPA said it is looking for ways to better illustrate the information, and that it is posting daily updates on its website. Residents can ask questions at the hotline and weekly open houses that the agency has in town.
Along with colleagues and students, he visited homes, talked to residents, and collected water samples from private wells. Acrolein was found among several chemicals that could have been released after the accident. They are analyzing the information to see if the compounds are of concern.
Richeal applauds the efforts by scientists. “It’s very important that independent researchers are doing this,” he says. He is concerned about the long-term effects. What happens when everything gets into the ground? There are a lot of unknowns.
