Mold Remediation in East Palestine, OH

EAST PALESTINE — With most of the major remediation complete to clean up impacts for the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical spill, focus will shift to the waterways.

The spring assessment of Leslie and Sulphur Runs started this week and will continue as weather allows, according to the site update tab on nsmakingitright.com. The assessment will include sheen surveys, sediment, and water sampling.

The process is expected to be a repeat of the assessment ordered in October of 2023 by the U.S. Environmental Agency and its authority under the Clean Water Act.

The EPA directed Norfolk Southern to investigate visible sheen in the creeks, which has been a concern of residents since the rail disaster over two years ago. The process involved agitating the stream sediment and turning over rocks and then grading sheen uncovered on a scale of 0-3 — 0 being no sheen visible and 3 being heavy sheen.

Last week, when speaking to the East Palestine Council, Eric Pohl, the new project manager over the East Palestine cleanup, indicated that he expects the latest creek assessment to reflect significant progress made since spring 2023.

The results of last year’s spring assessment are still available online at epa.gov/east-palestine-oh-train-derailment.

“In Leslie Run, 59% of locations had some sheen, compared to 66% of locations in Sulphur Run. In background locations, 92% of areas had no sheen,” the EPA said when posting the results in April of 2024.

The website also offered an update on work in the East End of the derailment site where two detections of 2-butoxyethanol and “other chemicals” were identified in January.

The substance is a colorless liquid with a fruity odor used as a solvent in paint and cleaning products and can cause irritation of the nose and eyes, headache, a metallic taste in their mouth and vomiting when exposed to it.

According to the railroad, over the next few weeks, crews will install an enhanced monitoring network of groundwater wells in the East End area.

Also, Norfolk Southern said air monitoring in the village will be reduced. Air monitoring continues sitewide, but “as the scope of site activities continues to diminish the associated air monitoring will also be reduced accordingly.”

Restoration of properties that make up the derailment site and those areas used during response efforts will “continue as weather conditions allow.”

According to the railroad, 74 million gallons of water has been recovered and transported off site, 224,756 tons of waste soil removed, 5,200 feet of impacted waterways have been flushed and 1,882 drinking water wells have been sampled during two-years of remediation work which is expected to wind down and wrap up sometime late spring or early summer.

(NewsNation) — The trial to decide if two companies should reimburse Norfolk Southern for the $600 million class-action settlement in the 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, began Monday.

Norfolk Southern agreed to the settlement. However, the railroad company is seeking that two companies, Oxy Vinyls, a leading chemical manufacturer, and GATX Corp., a railcar lessor, contribute to the multimillion-dollar payout.

U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson approved the settlement and a 27% fee for attorneys last year. She will oversee this trial.

Should the jury side with Norfolk Southern, the settlement amount would not be altered. Norfolk Southern is still responsible for the payout, but it would be compensated by the two companies.

Norfolk Southern’s attorneys stated in the court filings, “Despite obtaining valuable releases under Norfolk Southern’s settlement with the class, GATX and OxyVinyls have yet to contribute anything to that settlement or to the class at all.”

The lawyers continued, “The evidence presented at trial will establish that both GATX and OxyVinyls acted negligently and that Norfolk Southern is entitled to contribution from each.”

NewsNation reported in September 2024 that the hefty settlement was ill-received after the judge’s decision in court by some East Palestine residents due to concerns following an analysis by The Associated Press of how the Environmental Protection Agency handled the contamination data and cited a lack of transparency to residents.

Jami Wallace, a then-East Palestine resident, exited the courtroom calling the judge’s decision “a sham.”

In February, Wallace said on “NewsNation Now” that the “creeks are still contaminated. The only thing changing is people’s symptoms are actually going to longer-term illnesses,” and pled for help for the East Palestine residents impacted by the toxic spill from the train derailment.

Officials burned 116,000 gallons of vinyl chloride, a hazardous substance and a suspected carcinogen, to prevent explosions three days after the accident. Officials later said that was unnecessary. Since then, residents have reported illnesses and water quality concerns.

POLITICS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than two years after a Norfolk Southern train derailment spilled toxic chemicals into the community of East Palestine, Ohio, Trump administration officials stressed long-term health and environmental monitoring remain a top priority.

The assertion comes even as President Donald Trump says he wants to cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s budget by 65% as part of his administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government.

What You Need To Know

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency could easily cut 65% of its budget—or more—and still meet its obligations to enforce environmental protection laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Toxic Substances Control Act.

“We want to operate, and really any agency should be operating, as efficiently as we possibly can, filling all of our statutory obligations exceptionally,” he said.

Zeldin said any proposed cuts would not affect East Palestine operations. Much of the chemical clean-up has already been completed, including removal of 175,224 tons of contaminated soil and 74 million gallons of polluted surface water.

In addition, the EPA and Justice Department reached a $310 million settlement with Norfolk Southern that will pay for health monitoring for the surrounding communities and long-term environmental monitoring.

Some East Palestine residents, though, said they had concerns.

“With the political and governmental landscape right now, absolutely, I'm concerned that we're not going to get some of the funding or the attention that we really need to make sure that we're taken care of in the future,” said Misti Allison, who lives in East Palestine.

Allison added she did not trust Norfolk Southern to administer the long-term monitoring.

“That does lead to a lot of undue influence, which is terrifying for the community. So, for instance, Norfolk Southern has been able to put the plans in place for what the environmental cleanup should be, what that health care monitoring should be. And the last time I checked, Norfolk Southern is a transportation company. They are not health care providers. They are not environmental experts.”

Allison chairs the Community Advisory Board for the East Palestine Train Derailment Health Tracking Study, run by the University of Kentucky. It is currently the only program tracking health outcomes in East Palestine residents, though a bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers this month introduced legislation to fund a similar study through 2029.

“What is a litmus test to determine that Norfolk Southern is going to be held accountable and that this community is going to be made whole again? We're still not really sure what that is. From my perspective, a lot more needs to be done from the health care front,” Allison said.

Allison said she was encouraged that officials are still talking about East Palestine, but wants legislation to ensure the long-term monitoring takes place and to prevent future train derailments.

Congress has still not passed any rail safety legislation since the derailment.

Vice President JD Vance’s Ohio roots could keep attention on East Palestine. One of Vance’s first acts in office was to visit the village on the second anniversary of the derailment.

EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou wrote in a statement,

“President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin are in lockstep in creating a more efficient and effective federal government. Compared to 2024, the total amount spent year over year at EPA will deliver significant efficiencies to American taxpayers by cutting wasteful grants, reassessing the agency’s real estate footprint, and delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure. In his first term, President Trump advanced conservation and environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth for families across the country and will continue to do so this term.”