Feb. 26 (UPI) — Norfolk Southern is pausing the shipment of hazardous material from the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, following orders from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA is reviewing the routes shipments of waste will take from the site and the disposal sites they will go to, EPA region 5 administrator Debra Shore said in a press conference on Saturday.
“We have instructed Norfolk Southern to pause but only temporarily,” she said.
The administrator said the operation to transport hazardous waste from the site will resume soon. The decision comes after the agency received complaints from states where the waste was to be transported to, NPR reports.
Shore said all routes and disposal sites for contaminated waste will be subject to EPA review and approval.
According to Shore, the EPA has conducted 574 home re-entry screenings as of Saturday and is continually monitoring the air quality in East Palestine. She said there have been “no exceedances” of air quality standards and outdoor air quality is normal.
“One thing that’s been made clear to me is that everyone wants this contamination gone from the community,” Shore said. “We owe it to the people of East Palestine to move it out of the community as quickly as possible.
The EPA took control of cleanup efforts in East Palestine earlier this week as part of a “long-term remediation phase,” according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
“As we transition from emergency response, EPA will continue to coordinate closely with our local, state, and federal partners through a whole-of-government approach to support the East Palestine community during the remediation phase. To the people of East Palestine, EPA stands with you now and for as long as it may take.”
