EAST PALESTINE — It will take the village a long time to recover from the train derailment, but residents can be assured that the drinking water is safe to consume, village officials said Monday.

Council fielded questions from Hillside Drive resident Ericka Kinkead during the meeting, specifically with regards to monitoring of the village over time to ensure it is a safe place to live.

The Kinkeads purchased land in East Palestine two and a half years ago to build a home and raise their family, but now they have “grave concerns” for the long-term health of the population as a result of the effects of exposure to toxic chemicals from the derailment.

The Kinkeads are also concerned about the financial future of the village and its marketability following what they called an environmental disaster.

“What is the chemical footprint of this disaster and how can we expect the footprint to grow over time?” Ericka Kinkead said.

She also asked how often and for how long water testing will be conducted, and who would provide the testing for private wells.

Village Water Superintendent Scott Wolfe replied that testing is ongoing and will continue on a monthly basis moving forward even if the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency says it is not required.

The water was just tested earlier that day.

In addition to the village’s own testing, the water is being tested by the Columbiana County Health Department and a Norfolk Southern contractor, he added.

The tested water is sent to three separate labs for comparison.

As for private wells, that water is tested by the Columbiana County Health Department in conjunction with the Ohio EPA.

Mayor Trent Conaway said that the health department in conjunction with the Ohio EPA is beginning to test along Leslie Run in the village now.

Wolfe said that according to the plant permit the village was only required to test for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, once a year, but he will begin testing for these on a monthly basis.

“As far as those compounds go, that is not something that is common,” he said.

Testing is done daily on East Palestine water for iron and manganese, he added.

He went on to say that the only other time the village tested for VOCs was back in mid-2015 when hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas was more prevalent.

According to the historical data, the village didn’t detect any VOCs at that time, and has not detected any to date, Wolfe said.

“The big thing right now is vinyl chloride, benzene, which is things like fertilizers, hairspray, gasoline, oil, diesel. It’s an array of different compounds, ones that evaporate in the air and then dissolve in the ground. We have never had a detection looking back through the records,” he said.

Conaway said the Ohio EPA will continue to be on scene for the foreseeable future and that the public can communicate with the Columbiana County Health Board as well.

He added that the EPA has a website where the public can access information pertaining to the incident as well.

“I just want to stress that from day one, we knew what was on that train right away. We didn’t know what was on fire. It was a big cluster,” he said of the derailed train cars. “We just took all the experts, put them in a room, and whatever the worst chemical was that was the most quantity, that was how we got our circle.”

He added that if residents have any questions anything the EPA finds is going to be public information.

“Eventually there is going to be a report put out. Anytime you need information you need to contact the Ohio EPA,” he said.

Meanwhile, the village will begin working with the Department of Agriculture and the state of Ohio to conduct soil samples.

“We need a lot of answers moving forward. We are still in the beginning stages of this, but I will personally guarantee you we will get you answers,” Conaway said. “I want my soil sampled at my house. Everybody is frustrated and nervous and scared. Right now we need to get the chemicals down there (at the site) cleaned out.”

Conaway went on to say that eventually the village will recover, but he couldn’t comment on the financial aspect of that recovery, indicating it depends on how things go with Norfolk Southern.

“I am really hoping this will make us a stronger community. That is my goal,” he said.

Kinkead said she understood and thanked the mayor and all the village officials for “putting your very life on the line for us.”