The February 3 train wreck that caused a fire and crews released a toxic chemical to help avoid an explosion has been condemned by concerned residents
The February 3 train wreck that caused a fire that burned for days and sent crews to intentionally release a toxic chemical to help avoid an explosion, was met with a backlash by residents who are worried about their air and water safety.
Railroads in America move a lot of chemicals. The Association of American Railroads said that 2.2 million carloads of chemicals were moved on freight trains.
The 100-car freight train that derailed February 3 was carrying hazardous materials including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene and butyl acrylate, the US Environmental Protection Agency said. Of those, the vinyl chloride gas that caught fire could break down into compounds including hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a chemical weapon used during World War I as a choking agent, according to the EPA and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
DeWine said that there was something wrong when a train like this could come into a state and the current law didn’t require them to notify state or local officials. The fact that this train did not qualify under current law is ridiculous.
There is a section of Sulfur run near the site of the crash that remains severely contaminated according to Gov. DeWine, but no train wreck contaminants have been found in homes tested for air quality.
Environmental Effects of a Chemical spill on a rail train: Fires, explosions, and air quality in Ohio, and waterways in the Ohio River
“It’s the mode of transportation that’s capable of moving bulk quantities,” Federal Rail Administration spokesperson Warren Flatau told CNN. “These commodities cannot be moved by pipeline; the alternative is moving them by truck over the highways, which is not looked upon favorably.”
However, the USA Today analysis found that other forms of transportation are much more leak-prone: “for every rail leak reported last year, there were two involving planes and 67 on highways.”
We’re testing for the full breadth of toxic chemicals on that train. We have the capabilities to detect every single adverse impact that would result from that spill, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
The real issue is the risk of fire and explosion, says a researcher at Northeastern University. Natural gas would be very devastating if it were to go up in flames.
The agency says Ohio EPA leads the investigation of impacts to water. Samples from Sulphur Run and other points of nearby water streams are taken for testing.
As of Tuesday, the EPA reported it had screened indoor air at 396 homes in the area, with 100 homes remaining. The agency has also screened the air of local schools and a library. It has also tested local waterways several times after a plume of contamination was released into them.
The EPA said that some of the chemicals went into the local waterways, but much of them were contained. The initial spill of chemicals into the waterway made their way to the Ohio River, but officials said that they are only in low concentrations and that they are working with water facilities to make sure the chemicals aren’t passed onto water customers.
While most of the Tuesday news conference focused on volatile organic compounds – chemicals found in common household products – there are other kinds of chemicals that were released in the spill that don’t diffuse as easily, according to Purdue University professor Andrew Whelton, an expert on disasters, environmental chemistry and water quality.
“Because of their size, they don’t go in the air as easily,” Whelton said. “They like to stick to soils and other materials. The question is, how bad is the creek?
Despite the assurances, a chemical odor lingered days afterward and officials estimate thousands of fish were killed by contamination washing down streams and rivers, fueling residents’ concerns about water and air safety.
An Update on Water Testing near the Ohio Derailed Train Derailment: Virginians and Norfolk Southern Officials Displeased with Anomalies in East Palestine
Anecdotes are difficult to understand because they are anecdotes. “Everything that we’ve gathered thus far is really pointing toward very low measurements, if at all.”
Residents in East Palestine were repeatedly told to use bottled water until the testing of their water source was complete. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or making infant formula, you need to drink bottled water.
Feb. 14 — No vinyl chloride is detected in any of the down-gradient waterways near the train derailment, Tiffany Kavalec, Chief of the Division of Surface Water at the Ohio EPA says. Even though some waterways remain contaminated, the agency is confident that the contaminants are out of harm’s way.
Kavalec said water treatment facilities should be able to remove the low levels of volatile organic compounds in the water and that the water will eventually be safe to drink.
Non-stick pans and some foams are usually the places where PFAS is found. The EPA officials said Tuesday that they wouldn’t test the water for PFCs until later in the day.
The fumes of chlorine quickly burned the throat and eyes of Nathen Velez as he and his wife raised their two children.
Some residents refuse to return despite the order being lifted last week because they are worried that the village still isn’t safe.
Norfolk Southern officials decided to not participate in a community meeting about the situation due to threats to employees.
The company said that they have become increasingly concerned about the threats to their staff and community because of the increased likelihood of outside parties.
Company officials wanted to join local leaders to give an update on their steps to clean the site of the accident and provide the latest results from air and water testing, according to the release.
The community meeting was expected to go forward on Wednesday evening and the residents were invited to meet with their attorneys before the meeting to discuss the derailed train.
The East Palestine Derailment: Volatile Organic Compounds, Viable Soil Contaminations, and the Ohio Department of Emergency Response
Many residents of East Palestine are still concerned about the incident. Some, like Velez, are spending small fortunes to try to keep their families safely away from the place they used to call home.
Velez wrote that his wife is a nurse, and he doesn’t want his family to be exposed to what is now in our town. It is not worth the risk to try to live in our own home again.
On Wednesday, state officials again determined water coming from the municipal system was safe to drink, after test results from five wells that supply the system – covered by steel casing – showed no contaminants, the Ohio governor’s office said.
After water samples are analyzed overnight the order to evacuate is lifted five days later. The water is safe as a result of the results, according to the East Palestine Fire Chief.
The document that says potentially contaminated soil hasn’t yet been removed from the site is worrying because it indicates that toxic materials are not going to be dispersed further into the environment.
Vinyl chloride – a volatile organic compound, or VOC, and the most toxic chemical involved in the derailment – is known to cause cancer, attacking the liver, and can also affect the brain, Maria Doa of the Environmental Defense Fund told CNN.
Kurt Kohler of the Office of Emergency Response of the Ohio EPA said February 8 that it could take years to clean up the spill and that they would remain involved through other divisions. Administrator Michael Regan said the federal EPA will do everything in its power to protect the community.
The company contracted by Norfolk Southern to remove soil in the area wasn’t listed in the document that was sent to the EPA.
“Contaminated soil will continue (to) leech contaminants, both up into the air, and down into the surrounding ground,” Richard Peltier, an environmental health scientist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, told CNN in an email. “Every time it rains, a flood of new contaminants will enter the ecosystem.”
Norfolk Southern didn’t remove contaminated soil before opening the site, but if it did, it filled the areas that had been left over from the rail line.
Ben Ratner and his family are worried about the environmental consequences of the East Palestine derailment zone, as reported by CNN during a short visit
East Palestine resident Ben Ratner and his family worry about the longer-term risks that environmental officials are only beginning to assess, he told CNN this week.
But the Ratners – who played extras in a Netflix disaster film with eerie similarities to the derailment crisis – still are feeling “an ever-changing mix of emotions and feelings just right from the outset, just the amount of unknown that was there,” said Ben, who owns a cafe a few towns over and isn’t sure he still wants to open another in East Palestine.
“It’s hard to make an investment in something like that or even feel good about paying our mortgage whenever there might not be any value to those things in the future,” he said. “That’s something tough to come to grips with.”
A $1 million charity fund is being created by Norfolk Southern to support East Palestine.
“We will be judged by our actions. We are cleaning up the site in an environmentally responsible way, reimbursing residents affected by the derailment, and working with members of the community to identify what is needed to help East Palestine recover and thrive,” Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a release.
But when Velez returned Monday for a short visit to the neighborhood where his family has lived since 2014 to check his home and his business, he developed a nagging headache that, he said, stayed with him through the night – and left him with a nagging fear.
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.
“In terms of some of the symptoms of headache, et cetera, unfortunately volatile organic compounds share, with a host of other things, the ability to cause very common symptoms at the lower levels – so headache, eye irritation, nose irritation, et cetera,” he said. I think that we have to look at the measured facts, because the air sampling is not pointing toward an air source for this.
The EPA says that residents in the area may smell odors coming from the site due to the low odor threshold of the controlled burn’s byproduct.
Airbnb Buyers’ Choice: Is the EPA Responsible for the Cleanup of the Norfolk Southern Train Wreck? A Facebook Post by Kavalec
The family is limiting the amount of water they use. In a Facebook post, he wrote that giving his daughter a bath could be hazardous.
The majority of the chemicals can be passed if the drinking water intakes are closed. 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 they’re pretty confident “low levels” of contaminants that remain are not getting to customers.
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 it’s sad that there isn’t an answer. Leaving and paying a mortgage on a potentially worthless home is the only solution to this problem.
The EPA said it would take over the clean up of the Norfolk Southern train wreck that released chemicals into the environment.
The EPA has the power to enforce over the crisis according to Administrator Michael S. Regan.
“We issued a notice of accountability to the company, and they’ve signed that, indicating that they will be responsible for the cleanup,” Regan told CNN. The federal government and the enforcement agency will use their authority to ensure that this company is held accountable if new facts come to light.
The East Palestine Train Experiment: Why it Happened to Fail in East Palestine, Not in the Means of the Mayor’s Office
Several hundred people from East Palestine attended a town hall to express their distrust and frustration. The train operator had agreed to attend, but then pulled out due to safety concerns.
In a Tuesday press conference, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that the railroad is now in charge of the environmental clean-up after the emergency response effort.
The governor of Ohio wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send medical experts to East Palestine so that they can assess and counsel residents with questions or health symptoms.
Emergency response teams have plans in place to keep the contaminated water out of local waterways in the event of a storm, DeWine said.
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 mayor told reporters at Wednesday’s meeting that there were two options, either exploding the tanks or them doing so. Chemicals went into the air. I am truly sorry, but that is the only option we had. If we didn’t do that, then they were going to blow up, and we were going to have shrapnel all across this town.”
The Ohio Railroad Commission’s Absence from the Meeting on Wednesday Night at the Colosseum e/O – 8:30 p.m.
“I need help,” Conaway told reporters Wednesday night. “I have the village on my back, and I’ll do whatever it takes … to make this right. I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I want the community to know that we hear you, we see you, and that we will get to the bottom of this,” Regan said. “We are testing for all volatile organic chemicals, we’re testing for everything. We’re testing for everything that was on that train. So we feel comfortable that we are casting a net wide enough to present a picture that will protect the community.”
Nate Velez, who said he lives less than half a mile from where the train derailed, told CNN on Wednesday night that the company’s absence 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
Environmental Protection Against Derailed Cars: A Family Violence Against East Palestine, and a General Notice of Potential Liability to Norfolk Southern
“I was extremely disappointed that they didn’t show up at the town hall meeting last night. The public deserves transparency,” he said. The public should have access to the most up to date information. And so it’s our job, as the federal government, to hold this company accountable, and I promise you we will.”
When she asked if it was safe to return home, the railroad company told her it was. She wanted the railroad company to carry out soil and water tests, and then the toxicologist would deem her house 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.
She was concerned about how many of the children were laying in their bed in East Palestine. “I absolutely do not trust them.”
Community members in East Palestine are worried about possible health effects of the toxic materials released from the derailed cars since a mechanical failure may have been the cause.
Feb. 11 — EPA issues a general notice of potential liability letter to Norfolk Southern to document the release or threat of release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants to the environment. The letter outlines the EPA’s actions at the site, as well as the potential that the railroad could be held responsible for associated costs.
“Norfolk Southern will pay for the mess and the trauma they caused,” he said. “Norfolk Southern will not get off the hook for the mess they created.”
The East Palestine Railroad Company: Investigation into an Overheat-Failed Wheel Bearing at the Ohio-Pennsylvania Derailment
The company has committed more than $6 million to date in East Palestine, it said, including $3.8 million in direct financial assistance to families impacted by the accident.
According to the company, Alan Shaw says they invest more than $1 billion a year in safety solutions that include maintaining tracks, equipment and technology.
“It’s pretty clear that our safety culture and our investments in safety didn’t prevent this accident,” Shaw said. “We need to take a look at this and see what we can do differently and what we can do better.”
The EPA took charge of the clean up from the crash that took place just a short distance from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
“Norfolk Southern didn’t have to do this because of the goodness of their own heart.” There’s not a lot of goodness in there,” Shapiro said. “They needed to be compelled to act.”
CNN reports investigators are reviewing multiple videos of the train prior to it derailing. One video shows “what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the National Transportation Safety Board says in a statement.
Shaw didn’t comment on the possible causes during the CNBC interview. He said that Norfolk Southern is assisting the Federal Railroad Administration in their investigation of the cause.
The Ohio State Environmental Administrator’s Office of Investigations of the Derailment of the Norfolk Southern Airlines Airborne Heavy Ion Collision
The derailed cars were carrying hazardous chemicals, like butyl acrylate and vinyl Chloride, that are used to make hard plastic.
Ohio state officials have opened a health clinic in East Palestine for residents who believe they may have health issues as a result of the derailment, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.
The purpose of this is to be able to go someplace and get some answers about what kind of medical problems people are having, if they think they are having them.
DeWine added that the remediation effort near the crash site was ongoing. Over 1 million gallons of contaminated water has been removed so far.
The president called the EPA’s order “common sense.” “This is their mess. The president said that Norfolk Southern should be cleaned up.
As part of the continued fallout, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said state environmental officials made a “criminal referral” against Norfolk Southern. The law allows the Ohio attorney general to take actions, said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
East Palestine, Ohio, residents have been concerned about the EPA and railroad safety measures since the December 2016 train crash in a small village of East Palestine
Some residents have reported health problems, like headaches and rash, and thousands of fish perished in Ohio after a train derailed, as skeptics spread in the community.
Air and water quality testing done by the agency did not find any adverse effects to the residents of the small village near the Pennsylvania border.
Toasting with glasses of tap water from the home of an East Palestine, Ohio, resident, Regan and DeWine sought to quell bubbling concerns about the safety of the water.
The train operator gave incorrect information andfused to explore or articulate alternative courses of action after the toxic wreck in Pennsylvania, alleged the Governor on Tuesday.
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 said that his company continues to monitor air and water quality and has conducted hundreds of tests with thousands of data points, “all of which have come back clean.”
President Biden criticized the Trump administration for not being able to strengthen rail safety measures.
Biden wrote that it was more than a train wreck or a toxic waste spill because it was years of opposition to safety measures coming home to roost.
The continued cleanup efforts involve removing contaminated soil and water from under the railroad tracks at the derailment site. The tracks will be lifted to remove that soil, Ohio officials said.
East Palestine residents are still scared about the impacts of the toxic wreck, despite the fact that crews are continuing to clean it up.
The state opened a health clinic for East Palestine residents to address the reports of headaches, nausea, and other symptoms.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-wednesday/index.html
Comments on the Report of EPA Detection of Radiatively Induced Toxic Flares in the U.S. Air Force
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.
I agree with people who 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 discount what people are experiencing 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. “That’s the number one thing. Your home is your sanctuary: if you don’t feel safe in your home, then you’re never going to feel safe anywhere.”
EPA and Norfolk Southern Investigations of a Train Derailment at the East Palestine ohio Rail Station: Preliminary Results
The EPA said that priority was being placed on recovery of pooled liquids, excavation of heavily polluted soil and removal of remaining rail cars. Norfolk Southern created a containment area in a section of Sulphur Creek in order to divert water away from the site. The containment area has effectively cut off the introduction of additional contamination into Sulphur Run.
The entire town of roughly 5,000 people was placed in a shelter-in-place order. There is an order to evacuate for the area near James Street due to the risk of an explosion.
EPA community air monitoring readings do not detect any contaminants of concern, they say. Norfolk Southern’s contractor continues to conduct air monitoring, the agency says.
NTSB conducts a one-mile walkthrough of track outside the hot zone and identifies the point of derailment. The preliminary report will be out in four to eight weeks.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-timeline/index.html
First-Call Action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern after a railroad spill on Darlington Township, Pennsylvania, on February 6, 2006 – Two employees are laid off
Aeration pumps begin operating at three locations along Sulphur Run and the confluence with Leslie Run. Aeration helps treat contamination by injecting oxygen into 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.
Feb. 6 — To prevent an explosion, Norfolk Southern launches a controlled burn of rail cars containing vinyl chloride. EPA air monitoring detects particulate matter resulting from the fire, the agency says.
The 52nd Civil Service Team collects air samples from three public administration buildings and monitors their air quality.
The EPA says it is investigating a complaint of odors from the Darlington Township, Pennsylvania, fire station. A team of people with air monitoring equipment goes to the station and doesn’t see anything that could be a threat to the public.
The EPA and Ohio EPA are on the scene of a spill. The oil is pooling on the soil from the leaking tank car. The product is being removed using a vacuum truck after Norfolk Southern was notified of the spill.
A local couple and business owner file the first-class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, CNN reports. The rail company was accused of ignoring reasonable care for its residents and businesses, in connection with the train crash and chemical spill.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-timeline/index.html
Residents’ Concerns in the East Palestine Air and Water Monitoring after the February 8 Fire: EPA, phosgene and Hydrogen Chloride
Some residents still have concerns despite the officials deeming the air and water samples safe. Residents are encouraged to get their homes deep cleaned and seek medical attention, if necessary, officials say at a press conference.
Air monitoring throughout East Palestine continues, the EPA says. No concerns have been detected since the fire went out.
EPA discontinues phosgene and hydrogen chloride community air monitoring. After the fire was extinguished on February 8, the threat of vinyl chloride fire producing phosgene and hydrogen chloride no longer exists. The EPA will continue air monitoring for other chemicals.
Feb. 15 — Residents pack a high school gym in East Palestine for a meeting with officials to discuss the current state of their community, CNN reports.
The local leader takes questions from residents who are angry and distrust official accounts, including the transport company’s decision to skip the event.
The Regional Administrator and her co-conspirators are at a community meeting to hear residents’ concerns.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-timeline/index.html
The Village of East Palestine is a Clean Water System, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will investigate the railroad-railway derailment
The village of East Palestine’s well water has no water quality concerns, according to the EPA. The health district is still testing private water wells. The agency says that to date, 52 wells have been looked into, 49 in Ohio, and three in Pennsylvania.
EPA regional administrator Debra Shore said in a press conference Saturday that the agency instructed the railroad Norfolk Southern to pause transporting any more waste products from the derailment site until federal officials could review the routes and disposal facilities.
Feb. 21 — The state opens up a health clinic for residents who worry their symptoms, such as trouble breathing, rashes and nausea, might be linked to the derailment.
Residents and businesses will be provided with an additional layer of reassurance, which will be conducted by EPA staff and contractors, if the EPA were to offer cleaning services.
The company said Tuesday that they have a responsibility and are committed to doing what is right for the residents of East Palestine.
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.
They will fully pay for it. At any moment, if we have to step in because they refuse to do anything, we will do the cleaning up ourselves. The EPA chief said that they could fine them up to $70,000 a day.
“And when we recoup our total costs, we can charge them three times of the amount of the cost of the federal government. That is what the law provides.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s “Resummation” of EPA’s Removal of East Palestine Hazardous Chemicals: State and Local Concerns
After residents and officials in other states complained about the shipments of hazardous waste to East Palestine, Ohio, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered them to stop.
Just days before the weekend announcement, the EPA had said it would assume responsibility for cleaning up the East Palestine area after a train wreck caused hazardous chemicals to be released into the soil and air.
Shore said officials would resume transportation of the contaminated waste very soon.
She noted that the waste disposal plans, including location and transportation routes for contaminated waste, will be subject to federal EPA review and approval.
“We were not given any advance notice of this reported action,” said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. “Our priority is to always keep the people we represent safe.”
On Wednesday, a judge from Harris County, Texas said that she was sensitive to the concerns of the residents who learned that the water from East Palestine was headed to her state. On Saturday, Hidalgo said she was “heartened” by the EPA’s decision to pause the transports.
Spielmaker said in an email to NPR that these locations were chosen because of their ability and necessary permitting to dispose of these types of waste. “We are working with the US EPA to resume removing waste from East Palestine as soon as possible.”
Shore said she believed all the disposal facilities that Norfolk Southern had used were “up to the standards,” but that the EPA was reviewing the transportation routes and facilities in response to residents’ concerns.
She said it was important to the residents of East Palestine as well as those in the communities where the waste might go to ensure the process was done right.
When there are licensed, regulated disposal facilities that regularly dispose of similar waste, Shore believes it’s better to store it in a properly constructed and monitored disposal facility than have it remain in East Palestine. “At the same time I know there are folks in other states with concerns – legitimate concerns – about how this waste is being transported and how it is being disposed of.”