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EAST PALESTINE -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday released its initial report to comply with the presidential order issued by President Biden on Sept. 20 that directed the EPA to submit a report within 30 days on the cleanup efforts, Norfolk Southern's compliance and the sampling programs implemented following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment. The order was meant to determine if a Presidential Disaster Declaration is warranted for East Palestine and the other communities impacted by rail disaster and to both assess and address any long-term effects of the derailment.
"The report provides an overview of the response to date and explains the status of air, soil, surface water, groundwater, and drinking water sampling and monitoring," the EPA said via an email. "The agency will submit updated reports to the President every 60 days until all cleanup, assessment, and monitoring work required by EPA's order has been completed."
The 24-page report, dated Oct. 20 and can be viewed at epa.gov, covers all areas of the disaster response and remediation and also gives a detailed account of the condition of the creeks.
According to the report, surface water remediation and assessment remains ongoing following the Region 5 EPA's issuance of an order under the Clean Water Act on Oct. 18 that requires the railroad investigate sheen in the creeks and "to remove contaminated sediments in culverted areas of Sulphur Run and to further delineate, characterize, and, as necessary, remove oil and hazardous substances from the sediments in Leslie and Sulphur Runs."
The report explained that "nearby surface waters are still being evaluated for potential additional cleanup actions." It also details what chemicals have been detected in the waterways since the derailment.
"The review of surface water sample data collected from February through August identified detections of contaminants including acrylates, glycols, benzene, vinyl chloride, and PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), sometimes at concentrations exceeding screening levels," the report stated. "PAHs and petroleum hydrocarbons have been the most common compounds identified in surface water."
While the report maintained that "the number of detected analytes and their respective concentrations have declined from Feb. 13" with "no exceedances of the ecological screening levels or human health screening levels" detected in months, the report does address the sheen observed in the streams and discloses that sheen sample results from August "documented the presence of detectable levels of PAHs" while sediment samples collected in February and March "detected contaminants, including acrylates, glycols, and PAHs, and exceedances of screening levels." Ecological screening levels are considered safe for plants and animals while human health screening levels determine the risk level for humans.
The reports goes on to explain that additional sediment samples were taken in July and August "characterize current stream sediment conditions" after interim remedial activities were completed. That data also "indicated detections of PAHs, including exceedances of ecological screening levels" as well as toluene and acetone, both volatile organic compounds. The report stated that those compounds "were identified in several samples at levels that exceeded the ecological screening levels" with only benzo(a)pyrene (a PAH) "was in exceedance of the human health screen levels". Preliminary pore water sampling results - water collected from the streambed between the pores of gravel and sediment in areas where there is not enough sediment for a sample -- from August "indicated some detections and exceedances of ecological screening levels for some contaminants" with concentrations of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, benzo(a)pyrene and toluene greater than the screening level. The report also disclosed that "a laboratory estimated detection of vinyl chloride was identified at one pore water sample location." That sample, according to the report, is being investigated and the sample location is being evaluated.
Despite the detection of vinyl chloride, the report reiterates the EPA's stance that the conditions of the creeks are improving.
"Surface water data have been collected regularly since the derailment. Almost no contaminants of concern have been detected at levels of concern in water in surface streams since early May," the reports read. "Ohio EPA data indicate that surface water in the creeks is generally back to pre-incident conditions. Some cleanup of sediments and surface water has occurred, and additional cleanup will be conducted as necessary."
While all surface water sampling data has been made public, the report summarizes that data in a concise format.
The report also details clean-up efforts, specifically the removal of contaminated soil from the derailment site. The report was written before the EPA and Norfolk Southern announced earlier this month that all impacted dirt has been disposed off offsite.
"Since February, there has been tremendous progress towards removing contamination resulting from the derailment from the community -- excavating and disposing of more than 165,000 tons of contaminated soil and shipping more than 35 million gallons of wastewater off-site," the report read. "The contaminated soil and gravel beneath the train tracks at the derailment location have been excavated and transported off-site for disposal. Excavation of contaminated soil from affected areas near the tracks is complete, and site-wide confirmation sampling is underway to double-check that all contamination resulting from the derailment has been removed."
The Characterization Work Plan for Derailment Area Soil, commonly also known as the "full site assessment" is the work plan to confirm that all contamination has been removed. According to the report, that plan "will guide efforts to verify that cleanup goals have been achieved, to delineate the extent of any remaining contamination in soil, to identify potential long-term sources of groundwater contamination, to identify potential preferred pathways, and to identify potential vapor intrusion issues". Soil sampling is expected to be completed by July 15, 2024 and the vapor intrusion studies -- a way to assess possible contamination of the commercial buildings on the derailment site -- is projected to be complete by August 21, 2024.
Other timelines provided in the report include a projected completion date of Nov. 30 for the indoor-cleaning program while the initial sampling phases of the groundwater (potable wells, monitoring wells, and sentinel wells) are expected to be completed by end of December. To date, no results showing contaminants of potential concern above the established human health screening levels have been detected in groundwater samples. Weekly sampling of sentinel wells will continue.
Air sampling has also shown no contaminant that can be attributed to the train derailment has been detected in the community above screening levels, the reports stated. It also noted that 100 million air monitoring data points and 18,000 air samples have been collected and that more than 700 indoor air screenings were conducted to determine if indoor air was safe for residents to return home. No further indoor air monitoring or sampling is anticipated "due to the robust nature of the community-wide air monitoring program."
The EPA remains confident the village is safe and stands behind its data.
"EPA's number one priority has been -- and continues to be -- the health and safety of the community," the report read. "Since the disaster, EPA has collected more than 100 million air monitoring data points and more than 35,000 samples (air, water and soil) in and around the community. This data collection continues, and ongoing science-based reviews show that residents of East Palestine are not in danger from contaminated drinking water, soil, or air from the derailment."