Newsletter: East Palestine Train Derailment Response, 5-30-2023
Newsletter serving Serving East Palestine, Negley, Darlington, and surrounding communities
- Progress Made
- The Week Ahead
- Community Corner
- Did You Know?
- Site Status Check
- Top 3 Questions of the Week
- Safety Minute
- Upcoming Community Events
- Community Resource List
Progress Made
- Waste trucks can now be loaded at an impressive speed of about 10 minutes per truck. Multiple trucks are placed in a row to form an assembly line and loaded using a large hydraulic clamshell bucket on a crane helping to save time. More than 6,000 solid waste trucks have left East Palestine.
- Burn pits 1 and 2 and the north track soils have been excavated.
- Excavation, sampling, and backfilling of the “centerline” area between the north and south tracks are nearing completion.
The Week Ahead
At the Derailment Site
- Centerline and burn pit work should be completed during the first week of June. The ditch north of the tracks and west of Pleasant Street is being sampled.
- The ditch north of the tracks and west of Pleasant Street is being sampled.
- Truck traffic has increased near the derailment site. Up to 100 truckloads of soil and water leave the site every day. Weekends have less truck traffic.
- Taggart Street remains closed to the public.
In the Greater Community
- Air monitoring continues at 23 locations around town. Three mobile laboratories continually patrol the perimeter of the work areas to ensure protection of the public.
- Assessment work will continue down Sulphur Run and Leslie Run to determine next steps.
- EPA’s Community Welcome Center at 25 North Market Street in East Palestine is back open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- There are upcoming Public Health Information Sessions on June 1 and June 6. See the “Upcoming Community Events” section for details.
Community Corner
The Columbiana County Health District was recently presented with the Ohio Department of Health Director’s Award for their ongoing response to the East Palestine train derailment. The Health District has been involved in many aspects of the response including the development and implementation of the potable water sampling plan that informs sampling for private water wells in the area. This allows residents who have been impacted by the derailment to have their water co-sampled by the Health District and Norfolk Southern at no cost. Along with peace of mind, this ongoing sampling program has provided a total of 442 sets of final sample results to date. Congratulations Columbiana County Health District!
Did You Know?
Site Status Check
as of May 26
-
North Track:
Estimated 85% complete
South Track: In operation -
Leslie Run: Stream assessments are ongoing to determine next steps
-
Up to 100 trucks a day carry waste off-site
-
Sulphur Run: Bypass carries upstream water past derailment site
- 19.5 million est. gallons of wastewater shipped offsite
- 52,054 est. tons of solid waste shipped offsite
There are many different types of work trucks you may see around town. The trucks may look similar but have very different uses. Some community members have expressed concern about water wash trucks that appear to be spilling water. These trucks are spreading clean water to help reduce the spread of dust from the cleanup site. At the cleanup, most of the dust generated comes from gravel which was brought in as a surface for heavy construction materials used onsite. This is very common on construction sites. The gravel is being replaced by paving which will reduce the amount of dust. Hazardous water waste vehicles securely transport wastewater from the site for treatment. As you can tell in the pictures below, the two trucks are different sizes, and the hazardous truck has a placard on it reading “3082” to mean miscellaneous hazardous material.
Top 3 Questions of the Week
Upcoming Community Events
- June 1: Public Health Information Session
The National Institutes of Health will go over a series of workshops they will be holding to evaluate public health research needs in East Palestine and surrounding areas. 6-7 p.m. at First United Presbyterian Church. - June 2-4: Darlington Days
EPA will host a booth with activities for children and cleanup information and resources. - June 6: Public Health Information Session
The CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will discuss topics of interest and answer your questions about health impacts from the train derailment. 6-7:30 p.m. at First United Presbyterian Church. You can send questions ahead of time by visiting the EPA Welcome Center, calling 330-775-6517, or by emailing r5_eastpalestine@epa.gov