EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold the next community open house this week to discuss the results of soil sampling in East Palestine.

The event will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at East Palestine High School. There will be EPA staff available to discuss the soil samples.

Soil removal continues at the derailment site and approximately 6,186 tons of contaminated soil has shipped to disposal facilities. Work at the site includes removing tracks in sections, removing soil, and placing it in a staging area for disposal. Soil removal continues on the south track rail area; planning for the north track rail removal is underway.

During the soil removal process, Norfolk Southern, with EPA oversight, will conduct soil
sampling beneath the excavated rail track.

An estimated 7.25 million gallons of wastewater have also been shipped offsite to appropriate disposal facilities.

EPA and Norfolk Southern contractors continue to take soil samples at agricultural, commercial, recreational and residential properties in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.

To date, 97 properties have been sampled. This soil sampling effort will help identify if contaminants, including SVOCs and dioxins, are present and may have been caused by the
train derailment. Preliminary soil sample results are coming back from the lab. This information will be shared with property owners and the public after quality checks are complete.

There have been 618 indoor air screenings have been conducted. Air monitoring continues at 23 stations throughout the community. No detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride have been identified so far.

During the soil removal at the derailment site, EPA and independent contractors are also conducting air monitoring within the work zone and throughout the surrounding community. The EPA does not anticipate exceedances of levels of health concern as a result of the soil removal work.