Newsletter: East Palestine Train Derailment Response, 6-13-2023
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
Progress Made
Public Health Partners Presented to the Community
On June 6, EPA hosted a Public Health Information session at the First United Presbyterian Church. The CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, the Columbiana County, Ohio & Pennsylvania Health Departments, and the Cincinnati Drug & Poison Control Center were in attendance to discuss health and address health concerns from the train derailment. The meeting was well attended, and the recording is available here.
Ongoing Removal and Quicker Loading of Liquid Waste
Each day liquid waste is removed from the large blue lake tanks by six to eight trucks (approximately 5,000 gallons each). The loading of each truck takes a crew of about eight workers which takes approximately 16 to 18 minutes. Workers connect a hose from the blue lake tanks to the top of each truck and use large meter sticks to measure and record the volume loaded into each truck. Liquid waste trucks have placarding on all four sides identifying them as containing hazardous material. Placards are required by the Department of Transportation to warn responders of the presence of hazardous materials being transported.
Sumps Collect and Pump Site Water
A series of sumps collect and move water that naturally accumulates around the site into the large blue lake tanks for containment. Before entering the large blue lake tanks, the liquid travels through a weir, a smaller blue tank that allows sediment and dirt to settle to the bottom, while the water is removed from the top of the tank. Once inside the blue tanks, liquid waste is removed for off-site disposal.
The Week Ahead
At the Site
- North Pleasant Drive will remain intermittently closed for derailment cleanup and track reconstruction. Residents are encouraged to use James Street as an alternate route to avoid delays.
- Contamination in the burn pit areas, north track and centerline have been removed and the areas have been backfilled. Only one grid area of the south track still needs to be excavated, which will be done after the north track is rebuilt.
- Truck traffic continues near the derailment site.
- Taggart Street remains closed to the public.
In the Greater Community
- EPA’s Community Welcome Center at 25 North Market Street in East Palestine remains 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. The Center will be closed on June 19 in recognition of the Juneteenth federal holiday.
- Evaluation of stream assessments of Sulphur Run and Leslie Run continues. These actions will help determine the level of contamination and removal action activities.
- Air monitoring continues at 23 locations around town.
Community Corner
The “HomeTown Walk/5K Run” was held this past Saturday, June 10. This event aids East Palestine village’s youth programs and raises the awareness of local businesses. More than $140,000 was raised and over 500 runners and walkers participated in the 5K. NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis was there to start the race and congratulate everyone at the finish line.
Did You Know?
Site Status Check
as of June 9
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North Track:
Estimated completion by the end of June
South Track: Tracks operational -
Leslie Run: Stream assessments are ongoing to determine next steps
Sulphur Run: Bypass carries upstream water past derailment site - 20.2 million est. gallons of wastewater shipped offsite
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Eastern Moles spend most of their lives underground and are amazing tunnelers – they can hollow out a 160-foot burrow in just one night. The eastern mole is chipmunk-sized and hairless, with tiny eyes and a pointed snout. Their favorite food by far are earthworms, but they will also gobble up centipedes, spiders, beetles, ant pupae, snails, slugs, and seeds, as well as the larvae of insects. Moles are solitary animals that mate in late winter and early spring. Females give birth to three to four babies at a time. By five to six weeks, mole babies, called pups, leave their mother and their home tunnel completely. Moles can live more than six years.
Top 3 Questions of the Week
SAFETY MINUTE
Wildfire Smoke from Canada
Image credit: National Weather Service
A weather system carries smoke from wildfires in Canada hundreds of miles into the U.S., pushing air quality into the unhealthy or worse categories in areas from the mid-Atlantic through the Northeast and parts of the Upper Great Lakes. EPA encourages people living in these areas to check their Air Quality Index (AQI) throughout the day to see their local air quality and steps to take to reduce smoke exposure and protect their health. Pay attention to any health symptoms if you have asthma, COPD, heart disease, or are pregnant. Get medical help if you need it. You can monitor your local outdoor air quality on AirNow.gov or by downloading the AirNow app.
Upcoming Community Events
• On June 14, EPA will be at the East Palestine Memorial Library for their “Meet the Helpers Event” at 6 p.m. in the library parking lot. This is an opportunity to meet and interact with responders and see their vehicles up close. EPA responders will be at the event with our Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) bus.
• On June 20, The Way Station and First United Presbyterian Church will host a Public Health Resource information session from 6 to 7 p.m. at 109 West Rebecca Street in East Palestine. East Liverpool City Hospital, the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County, and Columbiana County Mental Health will present on health resources and services available for residents.
- To watch recordings of earlier informational sessions, check out the “Videos and Photos” section.