Environmental officials in East Palestine, Ohio after toxic train derailment
Date
2/27/2023 8:35:24 AM
(MENAFN) Environmental officials in East Palestine, Ohio, have reported that air quality levels, both inside and outside homes, remain normal after a toxic train derailment earlier this month. During a news conference on Sunday, Debra Shore, a regional administrator with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stated that there have been no exceedances of residential air quality standards and that outdoor air quality levels have remained stable. The EPA has conducted 578 home re-entry screenings to date and is continuing to monitor air quality from 15 stations within the community.
Shore also announced that the agency has identified more EPA facilities that can accept contaminated waste removed from the area. Starting Monday, Norfolk Southern will resume shipments of waste after being ordered to pause them on Saturday. Some liquid waste will be sent to an underground injection well in Vickery, Ohio, while solid waste will be shipped to an incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. The EPA is working to identify additional disposal facilities to continue the cleanup process.
Ohio EPA director Anne Vogel said the cleanup on the derailment site continues to go "smoothly." She also stated that all railcars, except for the ones being held by the National Transportation Safety Board, have been removed from the site. The removal of railcars will allow officials to excavate additional contaminated soil and install monitoring wells to determine whether there is groundwater contamination. Vogel stated that this is critically important to the mission of the Ohio EPA to ensure the health of the residents of East Palestine and the environment.
The EPA and other responding agencies will be hosting an open house later this week where residents can get their questions answered. This announcement followed a town hall on Friday where environmental advocate Erin Brockovich demanded answers from state and federal authorities. According to officials, the cleanup can continue at a rapid pace, and the removal of waste from the area will be done as quickly as possible.
The town of East Palestine experienced a toxic train derailment earlier this month that resulted in frustrated residents and activists demanding answers on what chemicals they had been exposed to. The EPA has been working to ensure the safety of residents in the area and continue the cleanup process.
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