The sounds of trains are synonymous with East Palestine. But, February’s Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment and controlled burn of hazardous materials turned lives upside down.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
On Oct. 26, nearly nine months after the disaster, reporters were allowed at “ground zero,” where dozens of train cars derailed. The U.S. EPA held a news conference to announce what they called the “completion of major cleanup activities.”
“The excavation of contaminated soil is almost finished. EPA and our unified command partners have overseen Norfolk Southern’s work to remove more than 160,000 tons of contaminated soil and more than 39 million gallons of liquid waste,” said U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “This doesn't mean the cleanup is done or that EPA is going away. But it is another step, a huge step in life returning to normal here in East Palestine.”
The U.S. EPA said soil confirmation sampling will continue to ensure all contaminants are gone.
The EPA recently ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct additional cleanup and investigations at two creeks that run through the village- Sulphur Run and Leslie Run. Officials said that the order was the result of the presence of oily sheen.
“And eventually you'll see some work going on in the culverts that run throughout town to again clean out the culverts from any impacted sediments that may be present there,” said Mark Durno with the U.S. EPA.
The agency continues to maintain that air and drinking water, including water from wells, pose no risk to residents. The U.S. EPA said as part of their long-term work in East Palestine, there will be continued air, soil, surface water and groundwater sampling, testing and monitoring.
William Hugar lives on E. Taggart Street, as close to the tracks as it gets. News 5 first met him in March. Our team caught up with him again. He’s said it’s too early to say everything’s cleaned up and resolved.
“It's a wait-and-see game,” Hugar said.
Hugar said he knows a few people who’ve moved since the derailment over safety concerns.
“What's made you stay?” asked News 5’s Damon Maloney
“I don't have the money to move. If I had the money to move, you think I'd be here?” Hugar said.
He said he’s worried about the condition of Sulphur Creek behind his home.
“They need to go through and dredge all of that,” he said.
Hugar said he also worries the physical, financial and emotional damage will always stick with his hometown.
“You still fear people are going to leave?” Maloney asked.
“Oh yeah. People still talking about it,” Hugar said.
Mayor Trent Conaway acknowledged the work It’s taken to reach this point in the village’s recovery. He also said healing is a long-term assignment.
“It's going to take a while to heal those emotional wounds. And you know all the counseling everybody's offering is all going to be free, so they (residents) don’t have to worry about going into debt to get counseling for an event they had no control over.”
