Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency, Norfolk Southern clarify work plans | News, Sports, Jobs

EAST PALESTINE — The Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a statement on Wednesday clarifying portions of the Characterization Work Plan for Derailment-Area Soil as part of the Norfolk Southern train recently posted to epa.gov.

While the work plans were posted Monday and dated Sept. 7, the EPA said via Wednesday’s statement the assessment detailed in the work plans “is a ‘double-check.’”

“As EPA and its Unified Command partners have discussed in previous public information sessions, a full assessment (or characterization) of impacted properties and support areas would be conducted. This does not indicate a concern that contamination from the derailment may have affected a larger area,” it read. “This assessment is a ‘double-check’ to ensure that contamination did not spread as a result of response activities. It also ensures that areas previously cleaned up are reevaluated to confirm completeness. Support areas include any property where equipment and contained wastes were staged or non-hazardous operations were conducted. Additionally, this plan will look at commercial and industrial properties in the derailment zone that may have been impacted by spills associated with the derailment.”

The 544-page document, authored by NS contractor Arcadis, divided the village into sections which were categorized as 1A, 1, 2, 3 and 4, differentiated by the likelihood of contamination in those areas as a result of the derailment and response efforts. Category 1A is basically ground zero — where the cars derailed. Category 2 areas are locations where waste containers and cleanup equipment were staged and where potential leakage could have occurred. Category 3 are locations that have a lower probability of impact from the derailment and Category 4 are all other locations.

The EPA stressed in its statement that while two areas inside the city park were listed as Category 2 in the work plans.

“It’s important to note that, although areas at and near East Palestine Park will be assessed, there has been no evidence of spills in that area, other than known contamination in creek sediments,” the statement read. “A previous assessment of East Palestine Park conducted in May did not show any contamination above background levels for combustion-related chemicals.”

While no results of testing conducted in May were released, the EPA did report in April that results of soil sampling in the park that consisted of two samples taken from seven different spots – one at the surface and one below the surface — showed levels of dioxin and semi-volatile organic compounds “well below any levels that cause the agency to consider restricting activities.”

Wednesday’s statement referred to the Characterization Work Plan for Derailment-Area Soil “as Appendix E in the overall series of work plans” and stated it’s “intentionally designed to ensure that Norfolk Southern has performed all cleanup required by EPA’s order and that cleanup actions were thorough.”

The EPA stated that many more soil samples will be taken as remediation efforts continue and reported that assessment of the village’s infrastructure for trace contaminants will also be performed.

“Both surface and subsurface samples will be collected. The plan calls for the collection of more than 2,500 samples. While there is no evidence to suggest that additional contamination is present in areas other than those which are currently being addressed at the derailment site, we want to be sure,” the statement continued. “If residual contamination should be discovered through these efforts, EPA will direct further cleanup actions as needed. Finally, this work will include assessment of derailment area underground structures such as drainage pipes, tiles, and water collection points to ensure they don’t contain residual contamination.”

The statement identified that the investigation will target the following primary locations: both tracks and the centerline between tracks, locations impacted by the derailment where there was direct contact between soil and cars carrying hazardous materials during wrecking and scrapping operations (including ditches that may have conveyed spilled product or firefighting water), locations where waste containers and cleanup equipment were staged, locations in the derailment zone where there is no apparent impact but located between locations that are currently being cleaned up and any areas not currently identified if additional impacts are discovered.

Norfolk Southern also issued a statement clarifying the work plans.

“The approved work plan details sampling activities at locations in the immediate area of the derailment or subsequently used for response activities. The plan does not identify new locations or new contamination concerns, and merely describes the process for assessing these previously-identified locations,” Norfolk Southern said via email. “Most importantly, this plan is designed to confirm the completeness of cleanup activities and is one piece of the larger response. Other plans detail similar procedures for soil, groundwater, and air monitoring and sampling at many of the same locations covered in the approved work plan, and teams have also carried out approved sampling and investigation work across broader areas of the community. Norfolk Southern, in coordination with Unified Command, continues our work to clean up the site to those standards and make it right in East Palestine and the surrounding area.”

selverd@mojonews.com