East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment
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EPA is committed to protecting the health and safety of the East Palestine, Ohio community.
EPA personnel have been on site since the onset of the train derailment, supporting local and state partners as they lead on-the-ground response efforts.
EPA Approves Workplan to Cleanup Sediment in Sulphur and Leslie Runs
EPA Approves Workplan to Cleanup Sediment in Sulphur and Leslie Runs On March 1, EPA approved the Norfolk Southern workplan to complete sediment cleanup in Sulphur and Leslie Runs. While ecological conditions in the streams are improving, assessments of the streams identified areas of oil sheening.
- Read the workplan: Sediment Mitigation Measures Work Plan -Modified (pdf) (443.2 KB) .
- Review more information on Workplan to Cleanup Sediment in Sulphur and Leslie Runs.
Latest Update: May 4, 2024
- Sediment cleanup continues in Sulphur Run and has progressed from the derailment site
downstream to near James Street. Areas requiring further attention have been isolated using
containment and sorbent boom. A full creek re-assessment will be conducted after all impacted areas of Leslie and Sulphur run are cleaned.- Norfolk Southern initially began sediment cleanup in Sulphur Run on March 25. EPA
later directed Norfolk Southern to suspend cleanup operations to evaluate how to
contain and recover oil sheen from sediments more effectively. - Next week, creek cleanup efforts will progress into residential and commercial areas on
Sulphur Run. Work hours will be 7:30 am – 6 pm; however, use of noisy equipment will
be limited to 10 am – 4 pm in residential areas.
- Norfolk Southern initially began sediment cleanup in Sulphur Run on March 25. EPA
- The return of natural water flow back into Sulphur Run is underway and is complete at three of 15 areas. This work will continue over several months. To prepare for rainwater and water from the upstream wetlands and derailment zone areas to flow naturally again to Sulphur Run, the north and south ditches alongside the tracks and adjacent areas will be sampled. Robust testing under EPA and Ohio EPA guidance, oversight, and approval will ensure the soil around and within the ditches have no remaining contamination. EPA released a short video describing this process.
- Read the entire update: Updates from East Palestine, May 4, 2024 (pdf) (110.1 KB)
- EPA’s Welcome Center is open by appointment only. To make an appointment, please call EPA’s information line at 330-775-6517. Questions can also be sent to r5_eastpalestine@epa.gov.
- Read the most recent monthly East Palestine newsletter, released on April 4. View previous editions of the newsletters on this webpage.
Response Videos
Background
At about 8:55 PM ET on February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, about a quarter-mile west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line.
Twenty of the affected cars contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and isobutylene.
More Background InformationUnified Command:
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency
- Village of East Palestine
- Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
- Norfolk Southern Corporation
Cooperating and Assisting Agencies include:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Ohio Emergency Management Agency
- Ohio Department of Health
- Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
- Beaver County Emergency Management Agency
- Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
- Ohio Department of Agriculture
- West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Resources for Residents
Learn more about all resources available for East Palestine area residents
- EPA Information Line: 330-775-6517
- EPA Community Welcome Center in East Palestine: 25 North Market St.,
- By appointment only
- Information Repository: East Palestine Memorial Public Library, 309 N. Market Street, East Palestine, Ohio 44413.
M-Th. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri-Sat. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.