Important Takeaways from Ohio Gov’s Train Derailment Briefing, Including a Shocking Revelation By Paula Bolyard
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine took to the podium on Tuesday to update reporters and citizens about the devastating train derailment in E. Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. The small town has been reeling in the wake of the derailment and subsequent controlled burn of dangerous chemicals days after the wreck.
One of the most astounding revelations from the press conference (watch below) was that the train was not classified as carrying hazardous chemicals.
“I learned today from the PUCO [Public Utilities Council of Ohio] that this train was not considered a high hazardous material train,” DeWine said. As a result, the railroad was not required to notify anyone in Ohio about what the train was carrying.
“Even though some rail cars did have hazardous material on board, and while most of them did not, that’s why it was not categorized as a high hazardous material train,” said DeWine. “Frankly, if this is true, and I’m told it’s true, this is absurd. And we need to look at this. And Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled. We should know when we are trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio.” The governor called on Congress to investigate the matter and make changes to the law if necessary.
DeWine noted that around 50 railroad cars were involved in the crash; ten of those were hauling hazardous materials. He said that both the U.S. and Ohio EPA were on the scene almost immediately to slow the flow of contaminated water while firefighters worked to put out the fire. Two days later, “concerns began to arise in regard to the temperature in one of the cars,” which was described to him as “volatile.” He immediately activated the National Guard.
Related: Is the Department of Transportation Derailing Buttigieg’s Ambitions?
“The fear was that this car might explode, sending deadly shrapnel in all directions,” he explained. After meeting with those on the ground at the site of the accident, “It was clear at that point that we were faced with two bad options. One option was to do nothing and wait for the car to explode.” He was told there would be a “high probability” of a “catastrophic explosion” that would result in shrapnel shooting out for nearly a mile. “We then made the decision to go ahead with the second option, which was the controlled release,” he said. “We sent back law enforcement into those zones, the red zone and the yellow zone, for the third time, to knock on, literally knock on doors” to evacuate residents. They were only allowed to return home after “the monitoring showed that the air was basically what it was prior to the actual train crash, what we would have expected it to be at that time.”
Other takeaways from the press conference:
- While it’s been widely reported that the response to the wreck has been minimal, there is, in fact, an ongoing, extensive response by federal, state, and local authorities.
- EPA officials are tracking a chemical “plume” that is floating toward the Ohio River at a rate of one mile per hour. If necessary, officials can close drinking water intakes until the chemicals pass. “This strategy, along with drinking water treatment, like oxidation and advanced… treatment like activated carbon, are both effective at addressing these contaminants and helps ensure the safe drink a safety of the drinking water supplies,” said Tiffany Kavalee, the head of the Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water. “So we’re pretty confident that these low levels are not getting passed on to the customers.”
- Bruce Vanderhoff, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, said the main concern at this point is drinking water, in particular, for those who have private wells. He urged both those with private wells and those on municipal water to use bottled water until more tests can be conducted. He also implored those with private wells to call the hotline so they can have their water tested at no cost. Bottled water is also being provided to residents. Vanderhoff said that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding could be especially vulnerable, in addition to infants on formula that is mixed with water.
- According to Kurt Kohler, the on-scene coordinator of the emergency response for the Ohio EPA, the emergency phase response has multiple points of focus: the wreckage area where the cars are still being staged; Pleasant Road, “where we do know we have gross contamination present on the ground and still in the two ditches”; and the waterways, which have “been our targeted and our concern from the onset of this.” Emergency efforts include: dumping dirt into the creek and using containment booms to stop the flow of chemicals; building up aeration that helps dissolve the chemicals; active excavation of “grossly contaminated soil”; pumping water around so as not to “augment any contamination and continue to push high levels of contaminants downstream.” Kohler said they have had “boots on the ground all day every day since the onset of this incident” and he is “confident that we’ll get it to a stage where it’s safe to transfer over for mediation.”
- The Ohio Department of National Resources announced today that 3,500 dead fish, including 12 different species, have been discovered in area streams, tributaries, and waterways. No endangered fish are among that number. Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of National Resources, said that wildlife officers “have been there every day on the scene, working with contractors who are in the water, doing the net sampling, making the estimates. And we will continue to monitor and watch what’s going on and eventually hold those responsible accountable for the loss of wildlife in the area.”
- The waterways were last tested on Feb. 10. The report on the Ohio EPAs website shows “very low levels” of two contaminants, butyl acrylate and ethyl hexyl acrylate, which, according to the report, “dissipates quickly.” In addition, no vinyl chloride, which has been the most concerning for area residents, has been detected in any nearby waterways, including those that run into the Ohio River.
- A reporter asked about individuals in the community reporting symptoms like headaches and sore throats. Vanderhoff replied, “It’s an equation of concentration over duration. The higher the concentration, the longer the duration, the greater the risk. Everything that we’ve gathered thus far is really pointing toward very low measurements.” He encouraged those with symptoms to contact their medical providers and notify the local hotline “so a team can get out and check their environment.”
- Asked about the federal government’s response to the crash, DeWine said, “The federal government is conducting an investigation to determine why this wreck occurred.” He said President Biden called him last week and offered “anything we need.” DeWine has not returned the call, but “will not hesitate to do that” if more help is needed.
- Bruce Baldridge, the director of agriculture, fielded a question about reports of animals dying in the area. He said his department has been in contact with area veterinarians and the state veterinarian, and they are telling folks, ‘if you see symptoms of your livestock, reach out to your local vet.’” He added, “To this day, there’s nothing that we’ve seen in the livestock community that causes any concerns to the state.”
- DeWine said that Norfolk Southern has made a verbal commitment to cover the costs related to the derailment. “But, you know, I understand people’s skepticism, and I understand their anger. And if you know, if I lived in the community, I would be angry too. The railroad owns this problem. They will be held accountable.”
- The governor said he’s had no indication pointing to deliberate actions as the cause of the derailment.
Make no mistake: This is still a very dangerous situation, and there are a lot of unknowns. Residents rightly fear there could be long-term health ramifications from being exposed to deadly chemicals. Only time will tell if officials on the ground have done enough to mitigate the risks.
Comments are closed.
