Open Source: This story was generated by a reader’s question. If you have a story idea or tip you’d like for us to consider, please follow this link to submit your question.
Residents in Richland, Ashland, Crawford and Knox counties need not worry about water, air and soil quality following a massive chemical spill in East Palestine earlier this month, state and local health officials say.
Source Media Properties has received messages from readers wondering if their water, air and soil are free from contamination following the crash.
By and large, residents outside of the immediate impact zone of East Palestine, should not be concerned, officials have said.
But first, let’s back up.
What happened?
About 50 of 150 train cars derailed in a fiery wreck at around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3 because of a mechanical issue with the Norfolk Southern Railroad rail car axle. The National Transportation Safety Board, along with other local and federal officials, launched an investigation into what exactly happened to cause the derailment. A preliminary report is expected by the end of the month, according to the NTSB.
Eleven of the derailed cars contained hazardous materials and five of those contained vinyl chloride, a colorless gas used to make plastic.
Here’s a list, released by the EPA, of all the chemicals that were in the derailed cars.
Three days following the crash, Norfolk Southern Railroad executed a controlled release of the vinyl chloride to prevent an explosion, which caused a large plume of black smoke that could be observed miles away. The release prompted Gov. Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to order an evacuation of the area.
The evacuation order was lifted Feb. 8, after tests of the air quality in the area revealed “readings at points below safety screening levels for contaminants of concern,” according to the governor’s office.
No fatalities or injuries to people have been reported.
Concerns over air, water and soil contamination
On Feb. 10, the EPA said about 20 of the rail cars had been carrying hazardous chemicals. Those included vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ethers.
On Feb. 12, the EPA said it had not detected contaminants at “levels of concern” in the air in and around East Palestine. But residents still might smell odors.
As of Feb. 13, the EPA announced it had discontinued air monitoring for phosgene and hydrogen chloride.
“After the fire was extinguished on Feb. 8, the threat of vinyl chloride no longer exists. U.S. EPA will continue 24-hour community air monitoring for other chemicals of concern,” the agency said on its webpage dedicated to the East Palestine Train Derailment.
The agency had screened indoor air at 396 homes by Feb. 13, with 100 homes remaining and 65 on the schedule for Feb. 14.
What is the impact?
Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said roughly 3,500 fish from 12 difference species have died since the controlled explosion.
Harmful chemicals made their way into six different waterways including the Ohio River, where a contaminant plume has made its way towards West Virginia, said Tiffani Kavalec, the Ohio EPA’s surface water division chief.
Even so, communities who use the Ohio River as a drinking water source should not fret too much because the river has diluted the chemicals to a level that is not worrisome, Kavalec said during a press conference with DeWine and other officials held in Columbus on Feb. 14.
“The farther it travels down the Ohio River, the more it is dissipating,” she said. “We haven’t seen a risk even at the most closest points to East Palestine, so we would not envision anything from this point forward impacting any of the further drinking water supplies.”
As far as local drinking supplies go — in Ashland, Richland, Crawford and Knox counties — they are safe, officials have said.
Water sources in Ashland are mostly from groundwater wells, said Pat Donaldson, Director of Environmental Health for the Ashland County Health Department.
“Surface water supplies are more susceptible to contaminants,” she said.
But even so, the chemicals are in a totally different branch of water that ends up in the Ohio River.
Richland County is at the top of eight watersheds, said Erica Thomas, director of the Richland County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Thomas said she is not concerned.
“We are literally the beginning of these watersheds and everything is flowing downstream from us,” she said.
The air quality locally, said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff of the Ohio Department of Health, will not be affected by the plume of smoke caused by the controlled release.
“I think (people in Richland, Crawford, Ashland and Knox counties) can feel very confident,” he said. “We have to think about the dilutional effects that happen, as well as the predominant winds.
“I would not consider those communities to be at high risk.”
But what about the plume of smoke? Where did the chemicals in the smoke end up?
“I don’t know what the science is in regard to that,” DeWine said.
However, he noted, officials have monitored the air inside the immediate area of East Palestine and “the area right outside there.”
“And the quality of air there remained good — the entire time,” the governor said.
Kurt Kollar, the on-scene coordinator of the Ohio EPA’s office of emergency response, said officials received reports of odors and haziness in areas close to East Palestine in the days during and following the fire.
“No elevated readings did occur for those constituents,” he said.
What now?
Residents who live in the impacted areas are encouraged to call 330-849-3919 to have the Ohio EPA perform tests on private water wells. Those people have also been encouraged to drink bottled water, especially if they are pregnant, breast feeding or making formula for infants.
The Columbiana County Health Department encouraged residents to reach out to the medical provider if they experience symptoms.
Brian Baldridge, the director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, encouraged residents to reach out to their local veterinarian if they experience symptoms in livestock.
As for the cleanup effort, the EPA said Norfolk Southern Railroad may be liable for damages and cleanup at the site of the crash.
DeWine said he received affirmation from Norfolk Southern Railroad’s CEO that the company would stay at the scene until everything was cleaned up.
“Norfolk Southern is responsible for this problem,” DeWine declared, also threatening potential legal action from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “The impact on this community is huge.”
Lawsuits and congress involvement
Lawsuits have been filed against Norfolk Southern seeking monetary damages and medical testing.
The Ohio Attorney General dropped charges Wednesday related to the arrest of NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert during a press conference in East Palestine.
DeWine said Tuesday during a press conference that Norfolk Southern Railroad may not have been required to notify state officials that its train contained high hazardous materials.
“Frankly, if this was true, and I’m told it’s true, this is absurd,” DeWine said during a news conference. “We need to look at this. Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled.
“We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous material that are going through the state of Ohio.”
