COLUMBUS – Thousands of gallons of contaminated water and cubic yards of soil are being removed from the area around the scene of a fiery train wreck that prompted a toxic chemical release and an evacuation in East Palestine three weeks ago.
Where is it going?
The short answer is: Texas and Michigan.
Under the direction of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Norfolk Southern used dump trucks to start moving contaminated soil to U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal, a licensed hazardous waste disposal facility in Michigan, Gov. Mike DeWine said.
According to a release from Dewins’s office, nearly 5,000 cubic yards of soil have been excavated from the ground and more may be removed as cleanup proceeds. When the process begins to dig up the tracks and remove the soil underneath, that soil will be hauled away immediately and taken to a proper disposal facility, DeWine said.
More than 1.7 million gallons of contaminated liquid has also been removed from the immediate site of the derailment and DeWine’s office says 1.1 gallons have been hauled away, with most going to Texas Molecular, a hazardous waste disposal facility in a Houston suburb while a smaller amount was taken to Vickery Environmental in Vickery, Ohio.
A Texas county official says there are outstanding questions about the transportation and disposal of the toxic wastewater that has been moved to the town of Deer Park.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says, among other issues, the delivery of the wastewater also raises questions about the methods of transport, which she said may include trains, and the possible health impact on workers involved in the transfers and the communities between the crash site and the disposal area.
ODNR chief: Ohio’s resources “resilient”
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz provided an update Thursday on the derailment’s impact to aquatic life in the area.
Although the derailment killed about 43,000 aquatic creatures, she believes the impacted streams will recover.
“I’m going to say we’re confident we’re going to bring it back,” she said. “It’s going to come back. Ohio’s natural areas are resilient.”
The vast majority of aquatic species killed by the derailment were 1-to-3-inch minnows, Mertz said.
All are believed to have been killed in the first 24 hours following the crash and the state believes there is currently no immediate threat to minnows, fish, or other aquatic species.
ODNR reports that live fish have returned to Leslie Run.