East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

Latest Update: March 15, 2024

• 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. In the next few weeks, Norfolk Southern will target and remove oil discharged during the derailment, including additional stream/sediment washing and physical removal of sediments, as appropriate. This will be the final step in returning the waterways to their pre-derailment conditions. Cleanup will be overseen by EPA and Ohio EPA.
• Site runoff, including rainwater and snowmelt, has been collected in the two one-million-gallon big blue tanks. Previously, this wastewater was sampled, treated, and sampled again to ensure it could be shipped off-site as non-hazardous. Now, the contaminated soil has been removed from the site and testing of the runoff shows no presence of vinyl chloride or other hazardous materials. Because of these ongoing sampling results, this water can now be shipped off-site as non-hazardous wastewater. This represents great progress and shows how successful the removal of contamination has been.
• In the coming weeks, the process for returning the natural flow of water back into Sulphur Run will start. This process is expected to take several months. To prepare for rainwater and water from the upstream wetlands to flow naturally on-site, the north and south ditches alongside the tracks will be evaluated in areas, starting at the western-most end of the derailment site. Robust testing under EPA and Ohio EPA guidance, oversight, and approval will ensure the soils around and within the ditches have no remaining contamination.
  • Once testing in one area of the ditch shows naturally flowing water is safe to enter Sulphur Run, flow will be restored for that area. The testing process will repeat area-by-area (nine areas in total) until the full natural flow of water is restored. Surface water testing in Sulphur and Leslie Runs will continue during this process. None of this water flow will come from currently contained site wastewater.
  • Rainwater and snowmelt will continue to be collected on-site until water is fully restored to the ditches. If any areas need additional work, they will not be part of the process to restore water flow.
• Confirmatory sampling and investigation, known as Appendix E work, is ongoing.
• Review the water management update fact sheet. 
• EPA’s Welcome Center is open by appointment only. To make an appointment, please call EPA’s information line (330-775-6517). Questions can also be sent to r5_eastpalestine@epa.gov. 
• Read the most recent monthly East Palestine newsletter, released on February 14. View previous editions of the newsletters on this webpage.
• Read the complete update:  Updates from East Palestine, March 15, 2024 (pdf) (176.3 KB)

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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 Information