Who pays for it?
Norfolk Southern will cover costs associated with home and place of business cleaning.
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Norfolk Southern will cover costs associated with home and place of business cleaning.
Cleaning will be performed by workers contracted by Norfolk Southern who are trained and experienced with structure cleaning. Cleaning teams will wear the following: badges, identification clothing, safety vest, shoe covers, gloves (when appropriate for the task), and face coverings (upon request by the property owner or renter).
Any food in your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator/freezer that you will not need while you are away can be left in place. This includes items such as spices, canned, boxed, and bagged foods, and refrigerated/frozen foods. Before you leave your home or office, please be sure to empty all garbage…
Based on air monitoring and sampling conducted in and around the community, there is no evidence to suggest there is contamination of concern inside structures.
Pets (dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc.) cannot remain in the home during cleaning. You will need to make arrangements for your pets. We recommend first speaking with your neighbors, friends, and relatives, who may be able to care for your pets during the cleaning. If this option is not available…
Before the team begins cleaning, they will videotape each room and photograph the items you left. The videos and photos provide a record of the items that were present and the conditions of those items at the time the cleaning team entered your structure. An EPA representative will be present…
Anyone within the village of East Palestine, Ohio limits or within the 1-mile by 2-mile Ohio-Pennsylvania evacuation area is eligible for this service.
You can let us know by calling 330-775-6517, or visiting the EPA Community Welcome Center or the Norfolk Southern Family Assistance Center. If you previously contacted EPA to inquire about interest in the program, there is no need to contact us again. Please note that there will be an end…
Street cleaners now lightly mist Taggart with water before using a vacuum truck to collect material from the road. Crews adopted this approach to keep sediment and dust out of the storm drains and Sulphur Run.
Seventy-five different chemicals are tested for on the derailment site and around East Palestine. The air monitoring and sampling network includes 9 monitoring stations, 8 sampling stations, a MINICAM van, and the PTR-MS laboratory vans.
Last week, an East Palestine resident reported to EPA that they had a skin reaction from handling soil in their backyard after digging a swimming pool. EPA tested the soil and did not detect high hazard chemicals. The device used for testing did indicate that low levels of formaldehyde might…
No, all site vehicles are washed and cleaned before leaving the operational areas. Vehicles carrying contaminated soil are tightly covered and checked before entering Taggart. Street sweepers clean dust and residual dirt from the surrounding roads, so any mud would not be from contaminated areas.
Yes, street sweeping and road wetting on Taggart Street will continue on the roads surrounding the derailment site. Street sweepers and water trucks move slowly, so please exercise caution if you are behind either of these vehicles.
Up to 50-100 water, soil, and support vehicles per day are still anticipated as remaining contaminated soil and treated wastewater are shipped off-site. Also, as excavation concludes, trucks will enter the derailment site with clean soil (backfill).