State And Regional

Norfolk Southern says remediation continuing at East Palestine train derailment site

EAST PALESTINE — Norfolk Southern announced Saturday it has completed excavation of the impacted soil beneath the removed south track in East Palestine after a train derailed back in February.

>>PHOTOS: Huge flames, heavy smoke billows from train derailment in East Palestine

The company said it will complete the track restoration and called it a significant step in their commitment to clean up the derailment site in northeast Ohio, a spokesperson said.

Norfolk Southern says the south track is being replaced and work will begin on replacing the north track next week.

“We are making progress every day on our commitment to clean up the derailment site and make it right for the community of East Palestine,” said Norfolk Southern President and Chief Executive Officer Alan H. Shaw. “Today marks a major milestone in the remediation process, and we will not stop until the job is done safely and thoroughly.”

>>RELATED: Over 4 million gallons of waste from train derailment shipped throughout Ohio, to other states

The section of track that was reinstalled after testing confirmed the impacted soil under the removed track has been excavated, the spokesperson said.

Norfolk Southern says it has excavated and transported more than 25,000 tons of soil off-site for proper disposal.

The company says it continues to work with the community and the East Palestine Train Derailment Unified Command to complete all remediation efforts at the derailment site.

>>Railway Safety Act: How new proposed legislation aims to prevent train disasters like East Palestine

News Center 7 previously reported on February 3, that a Norfolk Southern train derailed in northeast Ohio, near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The approximate 50-car freight train crashed, causing a days-long fire that required a controlled burn to prevent the carriage’s highly toxic and extremely combustible waste product from blowing up and sending metal shrapnel miles away. Authorities handling the crisis evacuated the nearby town of East Palestine as a precautionary measure.

Crews then commenced the controlled release that created a black cloud of smoke emanating from the crash site as well as a massive explosion.

Since then, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and East Palestine’s municipal water works department worked to cleanup the disaster site and the nearby town of toxins, especially dioxins. The EPA further required Norfolk Southern to begin sampling directly for dioxins.

So far, the test results showed no detectable contaminants in the drinking water, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said.

>>Ohio train derailment: ‘We will be here;’ EPA provides update on cleanup

To obtain the clean drinking water, 4.19 million gallons of wastewater were removed from East Palestine, according to the Ohio EPA.

The wastewater was shipped to Vickery, Ohio; Deer Park, Texas; and Romulus, Michigan; for disposal by deep well injection, a liquid waste technology that prevented the migration of contaminants into drinkable and publicly used water.

Additionally, 1,400 tons of solid waste were removed from the derailment site, the Ohio EPA reported.

510 tons were hauled to Grafton, Ohio, and East Liverpool, Ohio, for incineration. While, 880 tons were shipped to Belleville, Michigan, and North Roachdale, Indiana, to be placed into landfills.

For more information about the status of these tests into the local drinking water, you can visit Columbiana County Health Department’s website.


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