DeWine releases latest update on East Palestine recovery efforts
On Sunday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued the latest update on cleanup work at the Feb. 3 site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in eastern Palestine, Ohio, with water monitoring wells being installed by a private contractor at the site of the train derailment. Up to three wells will be drilled this week to determine if the groundwater immediately below the derailment site is contaminated, with a total of 10 wells planned after the ground under the rails will be fully excavated. The wells announced today are in addition to four monitoring wells that were installed last week. The governor also stated that all of the cars were removed from the derailment site, with the exception of the 11 cars being detained as part of the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation. The governor said removal of contaminated soil and liquids from the train derailment site will resume tomorrow. According to the US EPA, the US EPA has authorized Norfolk Southern to ship contaminated soil to Heritage Thermal Services in East Liverpool, Ohio. The US EPA has also authorized Norfolk Southern to ship contaminated liquids to Vickery Environmental in Vickery, Ohio. The US EPA and the US Department of Transportation will oversee the shipment of the waste from East Palestine to the landfills. US EPA continues to work with Norfolk Southern to identify additional landfills. Approximately 1.8 million gallons of liquid waste and 4,832 cubic yards of solid waste have been collected to date. Additional solid and liquid waste is disposed of daily during the clean-up work. The release also provided an update on indoor and outdoor aerial surveillance. The US EPA reported that it conducted indoor air tests in a total of 578 homes. No contamination related to the derailment was found. Outdoor air monitoring is ongoing with 15 air monitors in the area. These monitors did not find any contamination associated with the derailment. According to the press release, Ohioans will not be called by Ohio Department of Health officials to conduct a health assessment. When you get a call, the release says not to give the caller any personal information.
On Sunday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine provided the latest update on cleanup work at the February 3 site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
In the press release, DeWine explained that the Ohio EPA is overseeing the installation of water monitoring wells, which are being installed by a private contractor at the site of the train derailment.
Up to three wells will be drilled this week to determine if the groundwater immediately below the derailment site is contaminated, with a total of 10 wells planned after the ground under the rails is fully excavated.
The wells announced today are in addition to the four monitoring wells installed last week.
The governor also stated that all of the cars were removed from the derailment site, with the exception of the 11 cars being detained as part of the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
The governor said removal of contaminated soil and liquids from the train derailment site would resume tomorrow.
According to the US EPA, the US EPA has authorized Norfolk Southern to ship contaminated soil to Heritage Thermal Services in East Liverpool, Ohio. The US EPA has also authorized Norfolk Southern to ship contaminated liquids to Vickery Environmental in Vickery, Ohio. US EPA and the US Department of Transportation will oversee the shipment of waste from East Palestine to landfills.
US EPA continues to work with Norfolk Southern to identify additional waste disposal sites.
Approximately 1.8 million gallons of liquid waste and 4,832 cubic yards of solid waste have been collected to date. Additional solid and liquid waste will be provided daily during the cleanup.
The release also included an update on indoor and outdoor aerial surveillance.
The US EPA reported that it conducted indoor air tests in a total of 578 homes. No contamination related to the derailment was found. Outdoor air monitoring is ongoing with 15 air monitors in the area. These monitors did not find any contamination associated with the derailment.
According to the press release, Ohioans are not being called by Ohio Department of Health officials to conduct a health assessment. When you get a call, the release says not to give the caller any personal information.