VICKERY, Ohio — Vickery Environmental in Sandusky County has been disposing of liquid hazardous waste from the Feb. 3 trail derailment in East Palestine for the past week, and according to Lisa Kuelling, the Sandusky County Emergency Management Director, will continue to until its help is no longer needed.
Kuelling said county officials felt it necessary to address residents' concerns in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Vickery Environmental is a waste management facility in Vickery, a small farming community in the county. It operates a deep well waste injection facility. The Company disposes of liquid wastes including acid waste water, pesticides and more. Kuelling said the company has been a part of the community for decades and is well equipped and has expertise in handling the material coming from East Palestine.
She said the Ohio EPA gave Norfolk Southern a list of vendors that could assist with cleanup and Vickery Environmental was on the list for overflow water.
"Overflow water is the firefighter foam water, so it’s from the firefighters fighting the fire on the train derailment. It’s the water that they’re putting on the fire, that could be mixed with their foam. It then lands on the fire and goes on the ground," she said.
Kuelling said for the past week, three to four loads of the liquid has been arriving from East Palestine to Vickery Environmental. She said last week it was testing at 92% water and this week it is 98% water.
"The concern that we know that our residents and others have had about it coming from East Palestine to here, but it’s water and everyone needs to considered it as such," she said.
She explained the deep well waste injection occurs at approximately 2,900 feet below the surface and is well below any type of surface water accessibility, adding that she is not worried about Vickery Environmental's ability to get the job done safely.
"They feel that they are truly helping East Palestine because this overflow water has to go somewhere, someone has to take it. This is what they do, everyday. This is the business they operate in. They really want to help, not only the individuals of East Palestine to get it out of their area, but to get it taken care of in a safe manner so that it doesn’t affect anyone in Sandusky County," said Kuelling.
Kuelling added that Vickery Environmental notified county officials last week but she wishes they would've received more of a heads up to be able to relay the information to Sandusky County residents.
RELATED: People in Vickery upset about hazardous liquid on its way from East Palestine
You can watch a replay of the news conference in the player below:
News 5's Tara Morgan spoke to residents in Vickery Monday night, and more than anything, they want information.
"What we want is information. I don't know whether we can stop it or curtail it, but we can at least have the knowledge of what's going on out there, what we need to do," resident John Steager and Townsend Township Trustee Chair said.
Watch: Residents in Vicory express their concerns:
CLICK HERE to read News 5's continuing coverage of the East Palestine train derailment.
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