(CNN) The federal Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Norfolk Southern to stop its shipment of hazardous waste from the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, so it can review the company’s plans for disposal.
Officials in Texas and Michigan complained that they did not receive any warning that contaminated water and soil from the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, would be sent to their jurisdictions for disposal.
About 2 million gallons of firefighting water from the train derailment area is expected to be dumped in Harris County, Texas, which has about half a million gallons already there, according to the county’s chief executive.
“This is a real problem, we were told yesterday that the materials are coming to know now that they will be here for a week,” said Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday.
“EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and lawful manner at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further releases of hazardous substances and impacts on communities,” the department said in a statement. CNN statement on Saturday.
As of Friday, Norfolk Southern was “solely responsible for the disposal of waste generated by the East Palestine train derailment,” the department said, but waste disposal plans “may be subject to EPA review and approval going forward.” .”
CNN has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment.
Contaminated soil from the derailment site was taken to US Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville, Michigan, US Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said on Friday.
He told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Saturday that neither he nor Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were aware of plans for toxic waste to be transported to disposal sites in his district.
“I called everybody,” Dingell said, “Never knew they were going to be here.”
Dingell represents Michigan’s sixth congressional district which is home to two landfills.
“When I found out about it yesterday, the first call I got, I immediately called the governor’s office, assuming they would know about it,” he said. Local officials, know this material is on its way.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said 4,832 cubic yards of soil had been removed from East Palestine and about six trucks were on their way to Michigan.
The complaints widen the controversy sparked by the Feb. 3 train derailment that prompted residents to complain about feeling sick after dangerous chemicals seeped into the air, water and soil.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board found that one of the train cars carrying plastic pellets was heated by a hot axle that sparked the initial fire, according to Jennifer Homendy, the chair of safety. board.
Residents worry rashes and headaches may be tied to chemicals from train crash
As the bearing temperature warmed, the train passed two wayside defect detectors that did not trigger an audible alarm message because the heat threshold was not reached at that point, Homendy explained. A third detector eventually picked up the high temperature, but by then it was too late.
“It was 100% preventable. … There was no accident,” Homendy said during a press conference Thursday.
The Texas official learned about the shipments from the news
In a news conference Thursday, Hidalgo expressed disappointment that he first learned about the expected water shipments Wednesday from the media — not from the government agency or Texas Molecular, the company hired to throw away the water.
Hidalgo said Texas Molecular told his office Thursday that half a million gallons of water were available in the county and shipments began arriving Wednesday.
He added that while there is no legal requirement for his office to be notified, “it’s not right.”
Texas Molecular receives water from trucks, but it’s unclear if the trucks are used for the entire trip, Hidalgo said. The company told his office they received about 30 truckloads of water a day, he said.
Texas Molecular said Friday that all shipments, so far, have arrived by truck for the entire trip.
“Texas Molecular does not transport or choose the mode of transportation for the water,” Jimmy Bracher, vice president of sales for VLS Environmental Solutions, which owns Texas Molecular, told CNN in a statement Friday night. .
“The company that generates the waste will determine/choose who ships the waste and they must be DOT and EPA approved transporters,” Bracher said.
On Thursday, Texas Molecular told CNN it was hired to dispose of hazardous water from the Ohio train derailment. The company said they are experts with over four decades of experience in managing water safely.
Hidalgo’s office is seeking information about the disposal, including the chemical composition of the firefighting water, the precautions taken, and why Harris County was chosen as the site, he said.
“There is nothing now to tell me – to tell us – there will be a transport accident, that it is done in a way that is not compatible with the well, that there is a bad reason why the water will come here and not in another a closer place,” said Hidalgo. “But it’s our job to do basic due diligence on that information.”
More than 1.7 million gallons of contaminated liquid were removed from the immediate site of the derailment, according to a Thursday news release from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Of this, more than 1.1 million gallons of “contaminated liquid” from East Palestine was transported off-site, with most going to Texas Molecular and some going to a facility in Vickery, Ohio.
CNN asked the Ohio agency the location of the remaining 581,500 gallons that were “removed” but not “hauled off-site” and have not yet received a response.
‘We learned about it through the grapevine,’ said Dingell
Wayne County, Michigan, officials have been contacting officials with various federal and state agencies, along with the train company involved in the derailment since learning of the transportation of contaminated materials, said Wayne County Executive Warren C Evans in a news conference last Friday night. Evans said the county did not receive a call from anyone that this happened.
“To do it in a way that the citizens of Wayne County don’t know it’s coming seems bad to me,” Evans said.
Officials don’t know if this move was made “maliciously or not” but said there were “disconnects,” Evans said.
“We learned about it through the grapevine and then saw Governor DeWine announce it on his site,” Dingell said at a news conference.
Five truckloads have been brought to the area so far, 99% with contaminated water and 1% with contaminated soil, according to Dingell. The truck containing the soil could have been brought to the site earlier in the week, Dingell added.
The train crew was not at fault, the NTSB chair said
The 149-car train operated by Norfolk Southern had three employees on board: an engine, a conductor and a trainee all at the head end of the engine, Homendy told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday.
So far, the investigation has found that the crew did nothing wrong before the derailment, although the crash was “100% preventable,” he said.
The next phase of the investigation will examine the train’s wheelset and bearings as well as damage from the derailment, the NTSB report said. The agency will also focus on the designs of tank cars and rails, along with methods and maintenance procedures.
Investigators will also review the train operator’s use of wayside defect detectors and the company’s rail inspection practices. More specifically, determining what caused the tire to fail to bear will be key to the investigation, Homendy said.
