https://www.foxnews.com/us/michigan-texas-officials-unaware-ohio-contaminated-soil-water-taken-areas
Michigan, Texas officials unaware Ohio contaminated
soil, water, taken to their areas: 'We were sandbagged'
A
Michigan congresswoman said that officials weren't 'given a heads up'
By Adam
Sabes | Fox News
Biden
says no plans to visit Ohio after train derailment disaster
'The Big Saturday Show' co-hosts
discuss the federal response and health concerns following the Feb. 3 train
derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Officials from Texas and Michigan say they were
unaware that soil and water from the site of the East Palestine, Ohio, freight
train derailment was being taken to their areas.
A Norfolk Southern train with 50
rail cars, 10 of which were carrying vinyl chloride, derailed in East Palestine
on Feb. 3. The derailment caused hazardous chemicals to spill onto the ground
and sent a plume of smoke into the air.
Days after the derailment, officials conducted
a controlled release of chemicals to avoid the risk of an explosion. Residents
were evacuated before officials conducted the release, but have since been
allowed back.
Wastewater and soil from the site of
the derailment was taken to hazardous waste companies in both Texas and
Michigan, and some officials claim that they didn't get any notice.
PETE BUTTIGIEG FACES CALL TO RESIGN
AFTER EAST PALESTINE DISASTER: 'SERIOUS AND PERSISTENT PROBLEMS'
Workers are seen on Tuesday, Feb.
21, cleaning up derailed train cars in East Palestine, Ohio, following the Feb.
3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment. (AP/Matt Freed)
A spokesperson for the Environmental
Protection agency told Fox News Digital that Norfolk Southern was in charge of
the disposal of waste from the East Palestine derailment, adding that "The
company supplied Ohio EPA with their list of selected and utilized disposal
facilities on February 23."
The spokesperson said that waste
shipments from the East Palestine derailment site is now on pause.
"Within 24 hours of being
notified, EPA instructed Norfolk Southern
to immediately pause waste shipments from the East Palestine train derailment
site. Waste disposal plans, including disposal location and transportation
routes for contaminated waste, will be subject to EPA review and approval
moving forward. EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and
lawful manner at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of
hazardous substances and impacts to communities," the spokesperson added.
However, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's
office says that some of the hazardous waste has already been taken to the
locations in Texas and Michigan.
"Of the twenty truckloads
(approximately 280 tons) of hazardous solid waste hauled away from the
derailment site, 15 truckloads of contaminated soil had already been disposed
of at the licensed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility in Michigan.
Five truckloads of contaminated soil were returned to East Palestine," an
update from DeWine's office read on Saturday. "The licensed hazardous
waste treatment and disposal facility in Texas will dispose of liquid waste
that has already been trucked out of East Palestine, but no additional liquid
waste will be accepted at the Texas facility at this time."
An undated aerial view of the train
derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (NTSB)
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said
in a statement that she wasn't told contaminated soil from the site of the
derailment would be taken to the U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville,
Michigan.
"We were not given a heads up
on this reported action. Our priority is to always keep the people we represent
safe. We are making inquiries of EPA, DOT, Norfolk Southern, U.S. Ecology, the
state of Ohio, and all others involved to understand what is being shipped,
whether these are approved storage facilities, the implications of this
decision, and how we ensure the safety of all Michigan residents," Dingell
said.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans
told FOX 2 that himself and
Governor Gretchen Whitmer weren't told about the waste disposal plan either.
This video screenshot released by
the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows the site of a
derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, the United States. About 50 Norfolk
Southern freight train cars derailed on the night of Feb. 3 in East Palestine,
a town of 4,800 residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, due to a
mechanical problem on an axle of one of the vehicles. (NTSB/Handout via
Xinhua via Getty Images)
"It sounds in all intents and
purposes that we were sandbagged. I don't know how you do that without
contacting local officials so that we can number one, know how to respond to
our communities, and two, to give advice about what routes to take and those sort
of things," Evans said. "In the phone call just a few minutes ago I
talked with the governor and important folks with the EPA, but to my
satisfaction - and I'd like to say the governors' office also got last-minute
bits and pieces of information. They weren't hiding anything from us. They were
trying to get information just like we were."
"It sounds in all intents and
purposes that we were sandbagged."
— Wayne County Executive Warren Evans
Wastewater from the train derailment
was taken to hazardous waste company Texas Molecular, which is located outside
of Houston, according to FOX 26.
Texas Molecular uses
"deep well injection method" to dispose of the wastewater. Deer Park
Mayor Jerry Mouton said that the company has been permitted to handle the
hazardous material.
"They’ve been permitted for the
better part of 40 years to handle this kind of material. (The company was) one
of the main sites that handled a lot of the stuff from the ITC event,"
Mouton said.
A large plume of smoke rises over
East Palestine, Ohio, after a controlled detonation of a portion of the
derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. About 50 cars, including
10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash. Federal
investigators say a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the
derailment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Representatives from Texas Molecular
told Mouton that the East Palestine fire was "was extinguished with foam
and water," explaining that the "firefighting water" was
collected in order to "protect people and the environment." The
representative explained that the water contains "small amounts
of Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS)" which are found in
products ranging from "packaging to non-stick cookware."
"I’m very confident this is a
great facility that knows what they’re doing," Mouton said.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo,
however, said that she wasn't given any notice that the materials were in the
area.
"It’s a very real problem, we
were told yesterday the materials were coming only to learn today they’ve been
here for a week," Hidalgo said.
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The National Transportation Safety
Board issued a preliminary report on its investigation into the derailment on
Thursday, which indicated that a hot axle was the cause of the incident. The
report states that the crew of the freight train was notified to slow and stop
by an alarm system on the train designed to detect overheated bearings.
"After the train stopped, the
crew observed fire and smoke and notified the Cleveland East dispatcher of a
possible derailment. With dispatcher authorization, the crew applied handbrakes
to the two railcars at the head of the train, uncoupled the head-end
locomotives, and moved the locomotives about 1 mile from the uncoupled
railcars," the NTSB wrote. "Responders arrived at the derailment site
and began response efforts."
Fox News Digital reached out to
Norfolk Southern for comment.
Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News
Digital. Story tips can be sent to Adam.Sabes@fox.com and on
Twitter @asabes10.
