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  1. Home
  2. East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

Frequently Asked Questions

On this page:

  • About the East Palestine Train Derailment
  • Air Testing
  • Chemicals of Concern and Associated Health Impacts
  • Environmental Testing Results 
  • Environmental Monitoring and Sampling
  • Exposure to Chemicals in the Air, Soil and Water
  • Formaldehyde
  • Livestock and Pet Health Impacts
  • Odors and Toxicity
  • Physical Work Updates, Road Closures, and Upcoming Public meetings
  • Residential soil sampling and water testing
  • Tax-Exemption
  • Waste Disposal and Containment
  • Home and office cleaning

About the East Palestine Train Derailment

  • Now that the track is rebuilt, what else needs to be done and how long will it take?

  • If I have concerns about wildlife, who do I contact?

  • Can I go visit the derailment site?

  • How does EPA oversee cleanup at the derailment site?

  • What is the process for refilling excavated areas at the derailment site?

  • Why are there new water pipes being installed and hydrants open in town?

  • Was water flowing into the creeks after heavy rains this past weekend from the derailment site?

  • There is mud on my car from driving on Taggart Street. Is this contaminated?

  • As North Pleasant Drive is closed, what are the trucks that are using Martin Street hauling?

  • If there is a government shutdown, will work continue on the cleanup?

  • Interested in voicing your opinions and concerns related to the derailment?

  • How do federal and state agencies get notified of a chemical or oil spill requiring an emergency response?

Air Testing

  • What is being tested for in EPA’s air testing program?

  • What is EPA’s response to inaccurate claims about its use of ASPECT?

Environmental Monitoring and Sampling

  • What work happens after contamination under and between the train tracks is removed?

  • What is EPA’s role in sampling?

  • What is the East Palestine Potable Water Sampling Work Plan?

  • What’s the difference between air sampling and air monitoring?

  • What is split sampling?

  • How is the current creek assessment different from the assessment done over the summer?

  • What is the plume map and what does it tell us?

  • Columbiana County Health District has sampled my private well, will it be sampled again?

Exposure to chemicals in the air, soil and water

  • If I get a urine test for vinyl chloride, what does that indicate?

  • What else can cause urine to test positive for thiodiglycolic acid?

  • What are the terms used to describe the length of exposure to substances?

  • What is being done to control dust?

  • What else can cause urine to test positive for thiodiglycolic acid?

  • Should I get tested?

  • Is our East Palestine City Park safe for activities?

  • If I get a urine test, what does that indicate?

  • Can I grow a garden at home or plant crops?

  • Can I use the East Palestine City Park?

  • Can I use other recreational areas in Ohio and Pennsylvania?

  • Can I grow a garden at home and eat the produce?

  • Can I plant my vegetable garden and/or farm field?

  • What’s the difference between short-term and long-term chemical exposure levels?

  • Do I need to do anything to ensure my pool is safe?

  • Can we use our football field? What about cross country running?

  • I heard there was some new data on dioxin, what does it mean?

  • Can smoke from the Canadian wildfires cause health concerns?

Formaldehyde

  • Is formaldehyde a contaminant of concern from the derailment?

Odors and Toxicity

  • Where do the dust control trucks get their water that they spray on the road?

  • Are odors from the derailment site dangerous?

Environmental testing results 

  • Is anybody sampling State Line Lake and the pond near the derailment site?

  • Is the air monitoring equipment detecting chemicals of concern?

  • What are preliminary data and how are they different from validated results?

  • How can I get help interpreting well sampling results?

  • What are current results for Ohio EPA’s stream and fish monitoring?

  • How is the sediment sampling in Leslie and Sulphur Run different than the eco-assessment?

  • What is the status of the sampling data from Leslie Run and Sulphur Run?

  • Did drinking water samples from the American Legion in East Palestine have detections of vinyl chloride?

Waste disposal and containment

  • How is waste leaving the derailment site tracked?

  • How is wastewater being collected at the derailment site?

  • What are the large blue tanks at the derailment site?

  • Are the trucks leaving the derailment site spreading contamination?

  • Where are trucks supposed to drive near the derailment site?

  • How is solid waste stored on-site before disposal?

  • How much waste was removed as part of the cleanup efforts?

  • Are there health risks to driving through Taggart Street?

  • What is the process for backfilling excavated areas at the derailment site?

  • Where is the treated wastewater going?

  • What does the on-site wastewater treatment process on site entail?

Chemicals of concern and associated health impacts

  • Are there specific medical tests available for vinyl chloride?

  • What are SVOCs (and VOCs)?

  • What are dioxins and how common are they?

  • What kind of screening does the East Liverpool City Hospital's East Palestine Clinic offer related to the train derailment?

  • How often should these screening tests be done?

  • Are any other tests ordered?

  • I have heard about research being conducted by the University of Kentucky. What is the health tracking survey?

  • Does the East Palestine clinic require an appointment, or can people just show up without an appointment if they require immediate medical care.

Livestock and pet health impacts

  • Should I let my pets and/or children play in Sulphur Run and Leslie Run?

Physical work updates, road closures, and upcoming public meetings

  • What is the research workshop that National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the national academies are planning in East Palestine and the greater community?

  • Why are street cleaners no longer watering Taggart the same way they used to?

  • Will cleaning the creeks be the last action taken at Sulphur Run and Leslie Run?

Residential soil sampling and water testing

  • Why was the well water priority zone boundary extended?

  • What are the next steps?

  • What chemicals did the soil sampling plan focus on?

  • What are soil sampling results compared to?

  • What is the status of the soil sampling effort?

  • What were the results from the phase 1 of soil sampling?

  • What do the symbols and words on my water well sampling results mean?

  • Where can I find the East Palestine City Park soil sampling results?

  • Where can I find soil sampling data and results?

  • How were soil sample locations chosen?

Home and office cleaning

  • Who is eligible for home cleaning?

Tax-Exemption

  • Are my derailment-related payments tax-exempt?

East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

  • East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment Home
  • Operational Updates
  • Resources for Affected Residents
    • Public Health Resources
    • Home and Office Cleaning
    • Settlement Update
  • Air Monitoring and Sampling Data
    • About Air Monitoring
    • Air Sampling Data
    • Air Monitoring Documents
  • Soil and Sediment Data
    • Soil and Sediment Sampling Data
    • Phase One Residential, Commercial, and Agricultural Soil Sampling Results
    • Soil and Sediment Sampling Results Quick Reference Guide
    • Event Reconstruction Plume Map
    • City Park Soil Sampling Results
    • Qualitative Sheen Assessment Results
    • Response to Inaccurate Dioxin Reporting
    • Workplan to Cleanup Sediment in Sulphur and Leslie Runs
  • Water Sampling Data
    • Water Management Update
  • Data Validation Reports: Air, Soil, Water
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Newsletters
  • Legal and other documents
    • About Executive Order 14108
    • Clean Water Act Administrative Order and Directives
    • Full Characterization Workplan
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    • About Soil Sampling
    • Taggart Street Reopening
  • Background
  • News Releases
Contact Us About the East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on September 13, 2024
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