Results from East Palestine, Ohio, EPA: Indoor air screening programs have not been detected in the last three months after a toxic train wreck

The agency’s website says railroad accidents that resulted in hazardous materials being released caused just 14 deaths from 1994 to 2005, while 116 deaths resulted from hazardous materials spilling after highway accidents in the same time period.

East Palestine, a small town of under 5,000 people along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, was the scene of a toxic train wreck two weeks ago. The residents were ordered to evacuate and the air and water were deemed safe enough for them to return about five days after the wreck.

There have been a growing number of reports that people are having burning sensations in their eyes and animals are falling ill since the order to evacuate was lifted on Wednesday.

Business owners and residents from East Palestine have sued Norfolk Southern, saying it was negligent and should pay for court-supervised medical checks for serious illnesses that may be related to exposure to the chemicals.

The EPA said it had not detected any levels of concern in East Palestine as of Sunday.

The agency added that vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride have not been detected in the 291 homes that have been screened as of Monday. More than 200 homes have been evaluated in the voluntary indoor air screening program.

The vinyl chloride could be a carcinogen and becomes a gas at room temperature, if it was loaded on five cars. It’s a kind of plastic used for pipes, wire and cable coating, and car parts.

When vinyl chloride is exposed in the environment, it breaks down from sunlight within a few days and changes into other chemicals such as formaldehyde. The chemical can evaporate into the air quickly when it’s spilled in soil, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The EPA has been monitoring for several other hazardous chemicals, including phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released by burning vinyl chloride. Exposure to phosgene can cause eye irritation, dry burning throat and vomiting; while hydrogen chloride can irritate the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Environmental Protection and Hazard Exposure in the Early Stages of Chemical Enviroment – Dannemiller Revealed at the Ohio State University

“Now that we are entering into a longer term phase of the problem, people are going to be concerned about the long term exposure that comes at lower levels,” said Karen Dannemiller, professor at the Ohio State University.

She encourages East Palestine residents to take part in EPA’s at- home air screenings because they consider indoor spaces an important point of exposure.

Residents should clean and wash surfaces that collect dust, especially areas that have smells, and wash items that absorb odors. She also advises vacuuming carefully in short bursts to try to prevent contaminants from moving into the air.

America’s railroads move a lot of chemicals. The Association of American Railroads said freight moved 2.2 million carloads of chemicals.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was worried about the lack of information on what rail cars were carrying, because the trains are crossing state lines.

“It’s the mode of transportation that’s capable of moving bulk quantities,” Federal Rail Administration spokesperson Warren Flatau told CNN. The Commodities cannot be moved by truck over the highways which are not viewed favorably.

Statistics show that rail is a safer way to carry dangerous materials than plane, truck or tanker, but spills and leaks still happen.

There is a real risk of train wreck and explosion, according to a researcher. “If natural gas were to have a derailment like the vinyl chloride, it would be devastating.”

EPA Monitoring and Sampling for Environmental Impact on the Ohio River after a Chemical Contamination Event in the Decay of a Train Wreck

“Air monitoring and sampling will continue until removal of heavily contaminated soil in the derailment area is complete and odors subside in the community,” the EPA said Sunday.

The governor said a chemical incident in the Ohio River will be near Huntington, West Virginia, sometime tomorrow. Testing results indicate that the chemical is currently well below a level the CDC considers hazardous, he said. Sampling of the river water will continue due to an abundance of caution, though no vinylchloride has been detected.

Whelton told CNN the EPA should also continue to monitor semi-volatile organic compounds, which are more persistent and detected in local waterways after the derailment.

“Because of their size, they don’t go in the air as easily,” Whelton said. They like to stick to soils. How contaminated is the creek, and what will be done to clean it up?

Anecdotal reports of pets and chickens dying have not yet been confirmed by officials. Mary Mertz, the director of Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources, said Tuesday that there’s no evidence that non-aquatic species have been affected by the spill.

The air quality is not to blame for the headaches and sore throats that people and animals experience around the train wreck zone, according to the Ohio Health Director.

The Impact of the East Palestine Chemical Incident on the Families of Velez and their Two Children During the September 10th Birth Anniversary of the Newport News Air Shower

“Anecdotes are challenging because they’re anecdotes,” Vanderhoff said. “Everything that we’ve gathered thus far is really pointing toward very low measurements, if at all.”

Vanderhoff repeatedly told residents in East Palestine to use bottled water until testing on their water source is completed. People who are pregnant, breastfeeding or making infant formula should use bottled water.

Kurt Kollar, the Ohio EPA’s Office of Emergency Response’s on-site coordinator, said crews excavated and removed almost 500 yards of material from the site. The EPA is also blocking off ditches around the contaminated dirt so that it doesn’t contaminate more water.

As for drinking water, Kavalec said water treatment facilities should be able to remove the remaining low levels of volatile organic compounds in the water, and that the water will eventually be safe to drink.

Environmental officials need to test for the class of chemicals known as PFAS in addition to breaking down the chemicals with aeration and water treatment.

The stench of chlorine covered the air this week where Velez and his family had been raising their two children, burning his throat and eyes.

And on Wednesday, Norfolk Southern officials announced they would no longer take part in a community meeting scheduled that evening about the situation, citing threats to employees.

The company said that it was concerned about the growing physical threat to employees and members of the community due to the increasing likelihood of outside parties.

Company officials had hoped to join local leaders Wednesday evening to update the community on the steps they are taking to “safely clean up the accident site and to provide the latest results from ongoing water and air testing,” the release reads.

The meeting of the community was still expected to take place on Wednesday evening and residents were invited to meet with the attorneys before that to talk about the impact of the accident.

“Is it OK to still be here? Are my children safe? Are the people safe? Is the community safe? Glavan said he was from East Palestine at the meeting. “We all know the severity of that question, and what’s at stake. Some people think they are downplaying; some people don’t think so – let’s find out.”

Velez said his wife is a nurse and that they are not exposing them to anything currently in our town. It’s not worth it to live in our own home again, because of the risk and anxiety.

Ben Ratner, Ben and the Ohio EPA: On the Impact of the Derailment in East Palestine, and how to prepare for it

State officials have repeatedly said water from the municipal system – which is pulled from five deep wells covered by solid steel casing – is safe to drink. The EPA told residents to get water from private wells to be tested, according to the governor’s office.

A spokesperson for the company said “some soil is moved around” during the initial response phase. The company is continuing to “remediate the site” including by removing soil, spokesperson Connor Spielmaker added.

Cleanup and monitoring of the site could take years, Kurt Kohler of the Ohio EPA’s Office of Emergency Response said February 8, vowing that after the emergency response, “Ohio EPA is going to remain involved through our other divisions that oversee the long-term cleanup of these kinds of spill.” Administrator Michael Regan said the federal EPA will do everything it can to protect the community.

In a document sent to the EPA and recently made public by the agency, a company contracted by Norfolk Southern for cleanup efforts did not list soil removal among completed activities.

“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. A flood of new contaminants will be entering the environment when it rains.

CNN asked Norfolk Southern if it had filled in areas of contaminated soil and chemicals in order to reopen the rail line, and if it did.

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.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-residents/index.html

The Norfolk Southern Project: A Clean Air and Water Fund for the Vicinity of Velez’s Exit from a Train Wreck

It is difficult to make an investment or feel good about paying our mortgage if there is not a reason to do so in the future. It is difficult to come to grips with.

A $1 million fund will be created by Norfolk Southern to help the community of some 4,700 people while they continue to monitor air quality, remove spilled contaminants from the ground and streams, and much more.

“We will be judged by our actions,” Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a statement. The site of the train wreck is being cleaned up in a way that’s friendly to the environment, and residents will be reimbursed for their losses.

Velez and his family are temporarily staying in rentals away from the town. He had told CNN that when he was in the town, a chemical odor burned his eyes and throat, and gave him a headaches.

State and federal officials have repeatedly stated that air monitoring has not found any remaining concerns as a result of the spread of misinformation online. Even low levels of contaminants that aren’t considered hazardous can create lingering odors or symptoms such as headaches, Ohio’s health director said Tuesday.

As to odor, residents “in the area and tens of miles away may smell odors coming from the site,” Ohio EPA spokesperson James Lee told CNN on Wednesday. The substances involved have a low odor threshold. This means people may smell these contaminants at levels much lower than what is considered hazardous.”

Water and Air Quality Testing, Safety and the Environment: The Ratner Family’s Concerns about a Railroad Accident in East Palestine, Ohio

The Ratner family is limiting its water use because of unknown affects, Ben Ratner said. Velez worried that turning on the water or giving his daughter a bath could be hazardous.

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 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.

The sad truth is that many of us residents are stuck in the same situation and there is no answer. The only viable solution would be to leave and pay the mortgage on the home.

People in East Palestine, Ohio are wondering if they are safe from toxic chemicals that spilled or were burned off after a freight train derailed.

Hundreds of worried people gathered to hear state officials tell them — as they did earlier in the day — that testing so far has shown local air is safe to breathe and to promise that safety testing of the air and water would continue.

But residents had many questions over health hazards and they demanded more transparency from the railroad operator, Norfolk Southern, which did not attend the gathering, citing safety concerns for its staff.

There were still concerns about the huge amount of smoke, odors and possible threats to animals and the water that comes from them, among other things during Wednesday’s meeting.

Explaining the East Palestine tragedy: When the EPA becomes responsible for the crash, and how we’re going to look at the case against Norfolk Southern

“Why are they keeping their identity secret?” Kathy said about the railroad. “They’re not here to support or answer questions.” For three days we didn’t even know what was on the train.”

In and around East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania state line, residents said they wanted assistance navigating the financial help the railroad offered hundreds of families who evacuated, and they want to know whether it will be held responsible for what happened.

“The pollution, which continues to contaminate the area around East Palestine, created a nuisance, damage to natural resources and caused environmental harm,” Yost said in a letter to the company.

A mechanical issue with a rail car Axle is thought to be the cause of the derailing, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it has video showing a wheel bearing overheating just prior to the accident. The NTSB said it expects its preliminary report in about two weeks.

The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday and said the agency plans to hold the train company Norfolk Southern accountable for its role in the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals earlier this month.

The EPA Administrator said during a CNN interview that he has full authority to use his enforcement capabilities in the crisis.

“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. “But as this investigation continues, and as new facts arise, let me just say, and be very clear, I will use the full enforcement authority of this agency, and so will the federal government, to be sure that this company is held accountable.”

On the East Palestine Train Wreck and Detonations of the Tanks Containing Vinyl Chloride: Residents’ Concerns in the Presence of Environmental Hazards

The residents of East Palestine expressed their feelings at the town hall. The train operator had agreed to attend but later pulled out of the event due to safety concerns.

Some of the efforts to clean up the hazardous train wreck are being observed by Regan. He said the state had primary responsibility in the scene but the EPA was willing to partner and provide necessary resources.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been requested by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to quickly send medical experts to East Palestine to help people with questions.

Emergency response teams have plans in place to prevent pollutants from leaking into local waterways during the storms, DeWine said in a statement.

Ohio’s food supply is safe and the risk to livestock is low after the train wreck, according to state Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Further spurring residents’ questions about safety were crews’ decision to conduct controlled detonations February 6 of some of the tanks that were carrying toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride that has the potential to kill at high levels and increase cancer risk.

“I need help,” Conaway told reporters Wednesday night. I am on the side of the village and I will do my best to make sure it is right. I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere.”

“It’s hard, but it hurts my head,” said Jami Cozza, a Californian passenger who lived in East Palestine

“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 of the volatile organic chemicals. We’re testing for everything that was on that train. We are confident that we can 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.”

The majority of people wanted to go home, but 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.”

I was really sad that they weren’t at the meeting last night. The public deserves transparency,” he said. “The public deserves to have the latest information. I promise you we will hold this company accountable and it is our job, as the federal government, to do that.

Jami Cozza’s family has lived in East Palestine for generations near the contaminated creek, but right now she is staying at a hotel paid for by the railroad due to toxicity from the derailment.

According to Cozza, the railroad company told her that it was safe to go back to her house after air testing. However, she insisted the railroad company run soil and water tests, and only then did a toxicologist 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.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-thursday/index.html

The East Palestine Environmental Protection Agency’s Michael Regan meets with East Palestine residents, local officials and environmental officials whose concerns concern the safety of children in East Palestine

It is her concern that many of the children in East Palestine are not safe. I don’t trust them.

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 of them were novices, now they know the names and effects of chemical compounds.

The nation’s top environmental official is headed to East Palestine, Ohio, where the state is opening a health clinic Tuesday as worry and frustration linger in the community more than two weeks after the fiery derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals.

US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will return to the town Tuesday to meet with residents and local and state officials, an EPA official with knowledge of the visit told CNN.

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.

Medical teams from the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health are also expected to arrive in the community as early as this week to help assess what dangers remain.

People in East Palestine are uncertain about the safety of the water and air that they drink or breathe.

According to Dr. Haynes, it is important to monitor people’s health and the environment for some time to come, since health impacts may not emerge until later.

We shouldn’t say that we’re done looking at this community for potential exposure and health impacts. Haynes said that anyone with health symptoms should call the poison control center and that it’s not a good idea to ignore them.

Water and Soil Removal after the Ohio River Associated with a 1916-2015 Train Wreck at Norfolk Southern Heavy Ion Collider

The EPA said that Norfolk Southern installed booms and dams to restrict the water flow from the two locations where fish were found dead.

He said that anyone along the Ohio river who was made to suffer from the contaminated water can exhale a sigh of relief. We don’t have a lot of risk to our water supply from the train wreck, since it’s not a major river, and we won’t need to pull water from the river until the spill passes.

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 contaminated soil became a particular point of contention last week after a public document sent to the EPA on February 10 did not list soil removal among completed cleanup activities. It is not yet known what significance or impact the soil that was not removed before the railroad reopened on February 8 will have had on the surrounding areas.

As skepticism spreads about the safety of the air and water, some local business say they’ve seen fewer customers, despite calls to return to normal life.

Customers may be worried about the water washing their hair because of the salon’s loss of business, as well as the fact that they may be concerned about what is in the water.

“I know a lot of our businesses are already suffering greatly because people don’t want to come here,” local greenhouse owner Dianna Elzer told CNN affiliate WPXI.

Comments on the East Palestine Freight Disaster and the Role of Safety in the Development of Infrastructure for Rail Road Safety and Water Resources for the U.S.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is one of a number of officials who have demanded accountability and called for more safety regulations.

Shaw said that they had implemented a comprehensive testing program to ensure the safety of East Palestines water, air, and soil.

Crews are still working to respond to the freight disaster in East Palestine as community members worry about possible adverse health effects from the toxic materials released when dozens of cars derailed after a likely mechanical failure.

Under the legally binding order, Norfolk Southern must identify and clean up contaminated soil and water resources, pay for the costs of work performed by the EPA and reimburse the agency for additional cleaning services offered to residents and businesses.

Norfolk Southern will pay to clean up the mess they have created and the trauma they have inflicted. “In no way, shape or form will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess that they created.”

The company has committed $6 million to East Palestine so far and has helped families who have been affected 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.

“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.”

Norfolk Southern and the OPE/OSHA investigation of the Ohio-Pennsylvania Highway Collision at 6:37 a.m. ET

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.

I believe Norfolk Southern was not going to do this out of their own good will. There is not a lot of goodness in that place. They needed to do something.

Shaw wouldn’t comment in the CNBC interview on potential causes, citing the investigation. Norfolk Southern is fully cooperating with the federal railroad Administration to determine the cause of the crash.

“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.