Testing, recovery efforts ongoing in East Palestine

Nearly a year after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, environmental testing continues as the village tries to move forward.

Most reminders of the Feb. 3, 2023, accident have been cleared and cleaned after 38 cars among the 150-car train, including 11 carrying toxic chemicals like vinyl chloride, derailed on the eastern edge of East Palestine near the Pennsylvania border.

On Feb. 6, the rail company performed a controlled release and burned the remaining contents in some overturned tanker cars, creating a large black plume seen for miles.

Despite nearly 12 months passing, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection continues to test water, soil and well water for residents in Lawrence and Beaver counties.

To date, samples have been taken at 85 individual private potable water sources, 97 surface soil locations and 18 surface water locations within Pennsylvania totaling hundreds of samples, according to information from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office. Mapping and other testing information can be found on the DEP’s website at dep.pa.gov. The DEP’s contractor is in the process of conducting the fourth round of private well sampling and has completed all soil and surface water sampling.

“From the very beginning of Pennsylvania’s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Gov. Shapiro has been focused on delivering the support and the resources western Pennsylvanians need, protecting the health and safety of our communities and holding Norfolk Southern accountable for the impacts of the derailment,” Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder said in an emailed statement to The Newcastle News.

“That’s why he directed the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to conduct independent water and soil testing in close proximity to the derailment site and post the results online for residents to see for themselves, already delivered more than $1.4 million for first responders to recoup equipment losses from responding to the derailment, and ensured Pennsylvanians were not picking up the tab for the derailment. Nearly one year after Norfolk Southern’s train derailment, the Shapiro Administration continues to work with local communities in Beaver and Lawrence County to ensure Pennsylvanians are safe and deliver resources those communities need to recover — and the Administration will continue that work for as long as it is necessary.”

The train — nicknamed by workers as “32 Nasty” because of its apparent safety risks, according to a federal lawsuit — was traveling from Madison, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis, to the railyard in Conway, Beaver County, and was set to roll through Enon Valley in Lawrence County.

Several Lawrence County volunteer fire departments responded to the initial derailment and blaze in the late hours of Feb. 3, including Mahoning Township, Bessemer, New Beaver Borough, North Beaver Township, Chewton, Enon Valley and Wampum, while the Lawrence County Department of Public Safety staged its foam firefighting trailer in Chippewa.

The Lawrence County departments had the main job of shuttling water from nearby municipalities to the fire scene, which Mahoning Township fire Chief Francis “Poncho” Exposito called the biggest of his career and estimated the size at about four football fields with flames rising 40 to 50 feet in the air.

This story is part of collaborative coverage of East Palestine between the Pittsburgh Union Progress and the New Castle News, funded in part by a grant from the Pittsburgh Media Partnership.