Norfolk Southern Corp. can resume shipments of hazardous waste this week from the site of its freight train derailment in Ohio, a U.S. official said Sunday.
Federal officials ordered the railroad last week to pause waste removal at the site, saying they wanted to ensure that the safe disposal of spilled materials met Environmental Protection Agency approval. Materials already sent to facilities in Michigan and Texas were vetted, but those locations are no longer taking waste shipments, EPA regional administrator Debra Shore said Sunday.
Some liquid waste will now be disposed deep underground at an injection well in Vickery, Ohio, Shore told reporters in East Palestine, the town where the train derailed on Feb. 3. Solid waste will go to an incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio.
“It means the cleanup can continue at a rapid pace,” Shore said.
The derailment led to the release of toxic chemicals and prompted a brief evacuation of the town’s residents. The disaster has put pressure on both Norfolk Southern and President Joe Biden’s administration to ensure a proper cleanup effort.
Some residents have reported headaches, lingering odors and deaths of animals. The train had about 20 cars containing chemicals including vinyl chloride — considered a carcinogen — as well as ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene, according to the EPA.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday in a preliminary report that one of the train’s wheels was too hot moments before the incident. Crew members tried to hit the brakes, investigators said, but weren’t alerted in time.
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(With assistance from Keith Laing and Alan Levin.)
