1. INTRODUCTION
Regarding the train carrying hazardous materials that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, it caused a spill and subsequent fire that lasted for days and spewed toxic gases into the air, contaminated the soil, and drove people from their homes. In this article, we will review the timeline of events issued by the EPA (Part I) and discuss the environmental and health implications of the train derailment (Part II) and the cleanup and recovery efforts undertaken by local and federal authorities (Part III).
This first part sets out the facts reported by both the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the Ohio Governor's Office.
Original CNN Report: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/23/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-timeline/index.html
2. CHRONOLOGY
February 3, 2023 , a train (Norfolk Southern) carrying hazardous materials derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment. A total of 38 cars derailed in the incident, including 11 carrying hazardous materials. The spill included vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, and benzene. (BBC News, Washington.)
February 4th, EPA begins monitoring the air for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, that were on the train and can be harmful to people, according to the agency. EPA contractors installed downflow barriers and dams to restrict the flow of contaminated water, as well as contain and collect floating products to mitigate any potential impacts to Sulphur Run and Leslie Run creeks.
On February 5 , Governor Mike DeWine activated the Ohio National Guard to assist local authorities. A shelter-in-place order was issued for the entire city of approximately 5,000 people. An evacuation order was also issued for the area within a one-mile radius of the train crash due to the risk of explosion. According to the EPA, community air monitoring readings did not detect any pollutants of concern. Norfolk Southern's contractor continues to conduct air monitoring.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) arrives at the scene to collect evidence and asks the community to submit photos or videos of the incident.
The NTSB conducted a one-mile walk of the track outside the hot zone and identified the point of the derailment. NTSB member Michael Graham said the preliminary report is expected in four to eight weeks.
Aeration pumps, which help treat pollution by injecting oxygen into the water, have begun operating at three locations along Sulphur Run and its confluence with Leslie Run. EPA and Norfolk Southern contractors are collecting surface water samples for analysis.
The East Palestine Water Treatment Plant, which treats water from public wells, confirmed there were no adverse effects at the plant, according to the EPA.
February 6 – To prevent an explosion, Norfolk Southern launches a controlled burn of railcars containing vinyl chloride. EPA air monitoring detects particulate matter resulting from the fire, the agency says. In addition to real-time air monitoring, the EPA says it is collecting air samples alongside Civil Support Team 52, a specialized unit of the Ohio National Guard, for analysis. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is leading efforts to investigate and address potential impacts at Sulphur Run and Leslie Run.
February 7 : Area residents are told they may detect odors coming from the site because the prescribed burn byproducts have a low odor threshold, meaning people can smell these pollutants at levels much lower than what is considered dangerous, the EPA says.
EPA continues to monitor the air and work with Norfolk Southern, health departments and other response agencies to develop procedures for safely reoccupying evacuated areas. Civil Service Team 52 is conducting air monitoring in three government buildings and collecting air samples from each building, according to EPA.
The EPA says it is investigating an odor complaint from a fire station in Darlington Township, Pennsylvania. A team with air monitoring equipment is headed to the station, where it does not observe any contaminants above detection limits.
February 8 – The evacuation order is lifted, five days after the derailment, after water samples were tested overnight. The results lead officials to deem the water safe, East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick said at a news conference.
The EPA and Ohio EPA find spilled materials at Sulphur Run, the EPA says. The oily product leaks from a tank car and accumulates on the ground. Norfolk Southern is notified of the spill and begins removing the product using a vacuum truck.
A local couple and a business owner are filing the class action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, CNN reports. The suit accuses the railroad company of negligence, claiming it failed to exercise reasonable care for residents, and that businesses were negatively impacted by the derailment and chemical spill.
Feb. 9 : The EPA continues to monitor stationary and moving air surrounding the derailment scene. Even though officials deemed the air and water samples safe, some residents still have concerns. Residents are encouraged to do a deep cleaning of their homes and seek medical attention, if necessary, officials say at a news conference.
The EPA is working with the Ohio EPA to investigate remaining soil contamination and any impacts to surface waters, the agency says. The EPA is collecting samples of spilled material near the derailment site and at Sulphur Run.
Officials say schools will remain closed until further notice from the superintendent. Mayor Trent Conaway says the school building will be scrubbed "top to bottom" and the air tested before any children return to the building.
February 10 : Some residents say that when they returned to their homes in eastern Palestine, within half an hour they developed a rash and felt nauseous.
The EPA is assisting with voluntary residential air screening appointments offered by Norfolk Southern, the agency says. Crews have tested indoor air in a total of 46 homes. More than 400 requests for indoor air screening remain.
To increase the detection rate, Norfolk Southern, with assistance from the EPA, is bringing more crews and equipment to East Palestine, according to the EPA.
Ohio EPA is leading efforts to investigate and remediate the water impacts, the agency says. Samples are being taken from Sulphur Run and other nearby stream sites for testing.
Norfolk Southern contractors are installing a dam and water diversion on Sulphur Run to prevent further contamination of downstream waters, the EPA says.
February 11 – EPA issues a general notice of potential liability letter to Norfolk Southern to document the release or threatened release of hazardous substances, contaminants, or pollutants into the environment. The letter describes EPA's cleanup actions at the site and the possibility of holding the railroad liable for associated costs.
EPA continues to assist Norfolk Southern and Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency with voluntary residential air screening, EPA says.
February 12 – The EPA releases a document from Norfolk Southern listing the cars involved in the derailment and the products they were carrying.
Air monitoring throughout East Palestine continues, the EPA says. Monitoring since the fire was extinguished has not detected any level of concern that can be attributed to the incident.
Local schools and libraries are being assessed, EPA says.
February 13 : Re-entry air testing is underway. Community air monitoring will continue to operate 24 hours a day.
EPA deploys two more Summa air sampling canisters for continuous sampling.
EPA discontinues community air monitoring for phosgene and hydrochloric acid. After the fire was extinguished on February 8, there is no longer a threat of a vinyl chloride fire producing phosgene and hydrochloric acid. EPA will continue to monitor community air around the clock for other chemicals of concern.
East Palestine School District reopens schools in a "safe" manner.
February 14 – No vinyl chloride is detected in any of the downslope waterways near the train derailment, says Tiffani Kavalec, chief of the Ohio EPA’s Surface Water Division. Active aeration of waterways near the derailment continues, and while some waterways remain contaminated, the agency says it is confident the contaminants are contained.
About 3,500 fish of 12 different species have died in Ohio waterways, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says.
February 15: Residents fill the gymnasium of a high school in East Palestine for a meeting with officials to discuss the current state of their community, CNN reports.
The event hosted by East Palestine officials was supposed to include Norfolk Southern officials. But the company, which said it hoped to provide updates on cleanup efforts and air and water testing results, backtracked earlier in the day, saying it was concerned about a “growing physical threat to our employees and community members around this event,” stemming from its belief that “outside parties” would be involved.
Instead, local leaders are fielding questions from excited residents who expressed distrust in officials' accounts and anger over even the transportation company's decision to skip the event.
Norfolk Southern provides bottled water at its family assistance center, EPA says.
Regional Administrator Debra Shore attends a community meeting alongside EPA on-site coordinators and state and local officials to hear residents' concerns.
Gov. DeWine issues a press release stating that municipal water is safe for consumption. Test results from sampling municipal wells in the village showed no water quality issues, the state says.
East Palestine’s municipal water supply comes from five wells, DeWine’s office said. All of the wells are at least 56 feet underground and are steel-lined. As of Feb. 15 (12 days after the initial derailment/explosion and 9 days after the controlled detonation), test samples of both the raw, untreated municipal water and the treated water showed no dangerous levels of contaminants, the governor’s office said.
DeWine encourages East Palestine residents with private wells who have not had their water tested to continue drinking bottled water "out of an abundance of caution."
Norfolk Southern has not removed potentially contaminated soil from the site, new documents released by the EPA show. Norfolk Southern tells CNN it is continuing to work to clean up the site, including removing soil.
“Contaminated soil will continue to (shake off) contaminants, both into the air and into the surrounding soil,” Richard Peltier, an environmental health scientist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, tells CNN in an email. “Every time it rains, a flood of new contaminants will enter the ecosystem.”
February 16 – EPA Administrator Michael Regan arrives in East Palestine to assess the ongoing response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment. The Administrator meets with city, state, and federal leaders involved in the response, hears directly from residents about the impacts of the crisis, and discusses the work of the EPA.
DeWine is asking CDC for immediate assistance by sending expert medical assistance, including doctors and professionals who can evaluate residents experiencing symptoms.
February 17 : DeWine says no contaminants from the derailment have been found in homes where air quality was tested and that a section of Sulphur Run near the crash site remains severely contaminated.
Requests for federal medical experts have been granted and DeWine says officials should arrive next week to help shore up a clinic for patients.
February 18 : Air monitoring and indoor air screening continue, according to the EPA. Municipal water samples show no water quality issues, the agency says.
According to the EPA, emphasis is being placed on recovering all accumulated liquids, excavating heavily contaminated soil, and removing all remaining rail cars. To capture any contamination leaving the site, Norfolk Southern is establishing a containment area on a section of Sulphur Creek to divert all water upstream around the containment area. The containment area has effectively cut off the introduction of additional contamination into Sulphur Run.
February 19: Results from municipal well water samples from the village of East Palestine show no water quality problems, the EPA says. The Columbiana County General Health District continues to sample private water wells. To date, 52 wells have been sampled, 49 in Ohio and three across the border in Pennsylvania, the agency says.
Norfolk Southern continues to scrap and remove rail cars at the derailment site, excavate contaminated areas, remove liquids from affected storm drains and stage recovered waste for transport to an approved disposal facility, the EPA says. Water continues to be diverted from the upstream wetland area to Sulphur Run.
February 21 : The state opens a health clinic for residents who fear their symptoms, including shortness of breath, rashes and nausea, may be linked to the derailment.
CNN reports that investigators are reviewing videos of the train before it derailed. One video shows "what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stages of failure from overheating moments before the derailment," the National Transportation Safety Board says in a statement.
EPA announces its legally binding notice ordering Norfolk Southern to handle and pay for all necessary cleanup involved in the derailment.
As part of the EPA's legally binding order, the agency said, Norfolk Southern must:
• Identify and clean up any contaminated water and soil resources,
• Reimburse EPA for cleaning services to be provided to residents and businesses to provide an additional layer of peace of mind, to be performed by EPA staff and contractors,
- Attend and participate in public meetings at the request of EPA and post information online,
- Pay EPA's costs for work performed under this order.
- The order will take effect on Feb. 23. If the railroad company does not complete the actions ordered by the EPA, the agency says it will immediately step in, perform the necessary work and then seek to force Norfolk Southern to pay three times the cost.
Following the allegations, Norfolk Southern issued a statement to CNN:
“We recognize that we have a responsibility and are committed to doing what is right for the residents of East Palestine,” the company said Tuesday.
“We have been paying for the cleanup activities to date and will continue to do so. We are committed to cleaning up the site thoroughly and safely, and we are reimbursing residents for the disruption this has caused to their lives. We are investing to help East Palestine thrive for the long term and will continue to be in the community for as long as it takes. We will learn from this terrible accident and work with regulators and elected officials to improve rail safety.”
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office says it will investigate the train derailment following a criminal referral it received from the state Department of Environmental Protection, according to a statement from the office.
Gov. Josh Shapiro first mentioned the criminal referral when asked what non-financial actions are being taken.
In response to news of the criminal referral, a Norfolk Southern spokesperson said the company had no comment.
February 22: EPA Administrator Michael Regan is threatening to fine Norfolk Southern if it doesn't completely clean up the mess left by the derailment, he says, citing the agency's authority under CERCLA, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
Regan summarizes the EPA's demands on Norfolk Southern:
“Number one, they will clean up every piece of debris, every piece of contamination, to EPA specifications and to its satisfaction,” he tells CNN.
“Number two: They will pay for it, they will pay for it in full. At any time, if we have to intervene because they refuse to do something, we will do the cleanup ourselves. We can fine them up to $70,000 a day,” said the head of the EPA.
“And when we recover our full costs, we can charge them three times the amount of the federal government’s cost. That’s what the law says.”
The East Palestine School District is closing for a day due to former President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to the area.
February 23: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg makes his first visit to East Palestine nearly three weeks after the train derailment and defends the timing of the trip.
“In terms of the timing of the visit, I’m trying to strike the right balance by allowing the NTSB to play its role but making sure we’re here in that show of support,” he said.
Buttigieg says he is focused on making regulatory changes to prevent future incidents and challenged his critics to do the same.
Sources: EPA; Ohio Governor's Office, Pennsylvania Governor's Office;
Note: All information presented in this article is based on the facts reported by the official sources mentioned above. We do not express any personal opinion or viewpoint on the incident in question. Furthermore, we do not take responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information provided in this article as it is based on the sources mentioned above. Therefore, we recommend that readers refer to official sources for the most accurate and up-to-date information on the incident in question.
Article on website: (25) EAST PALESTINE, OHIO DERAILMENT: TIMELINE (PART I). | LinkedIn