Newsletter: East Palestine Train Derailment Response, 12-13-2023

Newsletter serving Serving East Palestine, Negley, Darlington, and surrounding communities

• Progress Made
• Sheen Scoring
• The Look Ahead
• Norfolk Southern Temporary Relocation Assistance
• Community Corner
•  
• Project Spotlight
• Happy Holidays
• In Case You Missed It
• Distribution Update
• About this Publication
•  

Progress Made

Sheen Assessments Completed

Last week, crews finished the qualitative sheen assessment in Leslie and Sulphur Runs. Every 25 feet, the creek bed was disturbed to look for any visible sheen. If observed, it was qualitatively graded on a zero to three-point scale depending on the amount visible (see graphic on right). Crews photo-documented the sheen and sampled the sheen and nearby sediment where sheens were heavy or moderate. More than 821 locations were assessed in Sulphur and Leslie Runs. EPA will use this information to determine what additional cleanup actions will be required in the creeks.

Qualitative Sheen Scoring

Score 0

No sheen

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Score 1

Light sheen assigned when a small presence of string-sheen is observed, and the majority of the stream bed area does not produce sheen during disturbance

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Score 2

Medium sheen assigned when there is a step-down in the presence of sheen stream-wide, with basketball-sized bubbles and no odor

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Score 3

Heavy sheen assigned when there is a stream-wide prevalence of sheen or larger amounts of sheen produced with odor upon disturbance

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Culverts Cleanout Ongoing

Last week, crews completed assessments of most culverts under East Palestine to prepare for cleanout. Workers, drones, and even a robotic dog, which was used to enter confined spaces, entered five culverts. Air monitoring was done as a safety measure for crews operating in a potential confined space. No evidence of derailment-related chemicals were detected in air samples during these operations. Three of the culverts have been cleaned, including removal of sediment and debris, and a fourth is nearing completion. One culvert assessment for cleanout has not been completed (the largest culvert is about 800 feet that crosses under Taggart Road).

On-site Wastewater Treatment Maintenance

Last week, the on-site wastewater treatment system was temporarily shut down to allow crews to perform maintenance and make operational adjustments. Treated and sampled wastewater remains in the effluent tanks and continues to be shipped offsite while the system is down. Additionally, small liquid storage tanks remain on-site in case extra storage capacity is needed.

Changes to Norfolk Southern Temporary Relocation Assistance

On December 5, Norfolk Southern announced changes to temporary relocation assistance, including a notice that this portion of their support program will conclude on Friday, February 9, 2024. Questions should be directed to their Family Assistance Center. Residents can visit in person at 191 E. Rebecca Street or call 800-230-7049.

Community Corner

The village was filled with festivities and fun this December at the annual Snowflake Festival.

Families of all ages embraced the holiday spirit at breakfast with Santa, Christmas parade and much more.

🎄❄️

Project Spotlight

Four commercial properties near the derailment site are part of “final confirmation sampling” (Appendix E of the EPA’s enforcement order) which is being conducted as a double-check to ensure the cleanup was complete. These four properties are where contamination was cleaned up immediately adjacent to the derailment. Assessment techniques include soil sampling at the ground surface and at various depths beneath the ground. It also includes using “vapor intrusion” methods to determine if contaminants of concern are present underneath the buildings. Part of vapor intrusion sampling includes drilling a hole through the concrete floor of a building and establishing a permanent air sampling port. The air sampling port is then sampled using an evacuated air canister for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis. 

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Happy Holidays

From All of us at EPA who've had the pleasure to serve the East Palestine and surrounding communities, wishing you a very Happy Holidays!

In Case You Missed It

On Monday, December 4, the Village of East Palestine facilitated a webinar providing an overview of a report prepared by EPA’s Technical Assistance Services for Communities, or TASC, program. The webinar detailed the environmental monitoring conducted by various agencies and summarized the information gathered to better understand the contamination released during the February derailment and controlled burn. More than 30 individuals attended, and many participated in a question-and-answer session that followed the presentation.