Updates from East Palestine Response April 21, 2023 EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - The south track through East Palestine is open to commercial traffic. Excavation of the north track and cleanup of the impacted soil will begin on Saturday, April 22. EPA Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) personnel remobilized to the site on Wednesday, April 19 to prepare for the restart of excavation work. TAGA will be operating in tandem with two PTR-MS mobile laboratories contracted by Norfolk Southern. Response By the Numbers (as of the morning of April 20, 2023) • 31,864 tons est. (+3,254 tons) of contaminated soil shipped • 12,836,290 gallons (+228,184 gallons) of liquid waste shipped to date • 631 indoor air screenings conducted • 459 private well samples conducted • The Welcome Center has received 652 visitors What to expect next week Cleanup and excavation of the north track will begin on Saturday, April 22. Members of the community and response personnel should be aware of the change in rail traffic after both lines were operational for a few days. At the derailment site: • Contaminated soil and waste stockpiles are being covered overnight and when not in use. • Vapor suppressants are being utilized to address odor and vapor issues associated with excavation activities. • EPA continues to document all excavation activities including soil confirmation sampling prior to restoration. In the greater community: • EPA's Welcome Center will have reduced hours on Sunday, April 23. The Welcome Center will be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. • Monday through Saturday, the EPA Welcome Center will continue to remain open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. • Air monitoring continues at 23 locations around the community. Review of data supports air monitoring trends that air quality has remained below screening levels. Air Quality Air monitoring continues 24/7 at 23 stations throughout the community. No detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride have been identified. EPA's TAGA mobile laboratory will resume perimeter air monitoring on Saturday, April 22 when excavation and cleanup begins on the north track. Soil Removal at the Derailment Site Removal of contaminated soil and waste continues at the derailment site. The recent spell of good ------- weather has facilitated the removal of contaminated soil at a record pace. Norfolk Southern and EPA are conducting air monitoring within the work zone and throughout the surrounding community. Norfolk Southern is also conducting worker air monitoring. Liquid Waste Removal Wastewater is collected to ensure water does not leave the derailment site or staging piles of contaminated soil. Wastewater is generated after rain falls on contaminated soil and is collected from cleaning and washing trucks before they leave the site. Soil Sampling On Thursday, April 20, EPA held a soil sampling information session at the First United Presbyterian Church in East Palestine. 50 members of the community attended the event and asked questions about soil sampling data, soil sampling procedures, and raised questions about health concerns. Preliminary soil sampling results are expected to be posted to EPA's East Palestine Train Derailment response page early next week. Drinking and Groundwater Sampling Ohio EPA continues to conduct drinking water testing of East Palestine municipal water wells on a weekly basis. Nine private wells were scheduled to be sampled on April 21. Water Quality Monitoring Norfolk Southern continues surface water sampling of affected waterways daily. Cleanup of contaminated material and product recovery is being performed in Sulphur Run and Leslie Run downstream of the incident. Cleanup operations are being done with particular care to sensitive habitats in Leslie Run to ensure protectiveness of those habitats during cleanup. Air monitoring is performed during these operations. ### ------- |