From staff and wire reports
EAST PALESTINE (AP) — The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says he doesn’t want any stigmas attached to the Ohio community where a train derailed and spewed toxic gases three weeks ago.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan says he’s pushing the railroad to clean up the mess as fast as possible.
He says the agency is continuing to monitor the air around East Palestine.
State and federal officials say testing has shown no signs of contamination from the derailment in the air or the village’s water system.
The EPA on Tuesday opened an office where people can sign up for air monitoring and cleaning services and announced the deployment of a Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer mobile laboratory to conduct real-time air monitoring and air sampling analysis.
“This means we don’t have to send samples away for analysis. We can analyze them right here in the bus as we collect them and provide the results very quickly, Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore explained.
Ohio senators ready rail safety bill
Ohio’s U.S. senators are among those planning to propose legislation that would make railroads subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences.
Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican JD Vance are key co-sponsors of the bill to be introduced Wednesday.
It responds to regulatory concerns raised by the Feb. 3 derailment of the Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine.
“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again. We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind,” Vance said.
“Rail lobbyists have fought for years to protect their profits at the expense of communities like East Palestine and Steubenville and Sandusky,” Brown said. “These commonsense bipartisan safety measures will finally hold big railroad companies accountable, make our railroads and the towns along them safer, and prevent future tragedies, so no community has to suffer like East Palestine again.”
The legislation would subject all trains carrying hazardous materials to additional safety regulations and state notification requirements and increased penalties for violations.
The bill also establishes requirements for wayside defect detectors and creates a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews.