Ohio train derailment waste shipments resume after brief pause

Shipments of the waste created from the massive train derailment in Ohio earlier this month resumed Monday. Federal officials ordered the pause Saturday amid concerns regarding oversight of where the waste was being shipped. At that point, some liquid and solid waste had already been taken to sites in Michigan and Texas.

“Harris County has received a half a million gallons of firefighting water and will be receiving up to one and a half million more gallons for around 2 million gallons total,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said last week. “Texas Molecular said they’re getting around 30 trucks per day from East Palestine, Ohio.”

Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced two new hazardous waste sites will receive some of the Ohio derailment shipments. The sites include an incinerator in Grafton, Ohio, and a landfill in Roachdale, Indiana.

“The addition of these disposal locations gets us closer to having enough capacity to finish the cleanup and to get all the waste out of East Palestine as quickly as possible,” EPA Region 5 Administrator Debora Shore said Monday. “EPA has conducted 578 home re-entry screenings so far and continues air monitoring at 15 stations within the community. I continue to be pleased that there have been no exceedances for residential air quality standards, and outdoor air quality remains normal.”

The EPA said it is getting close to having enough certified facilities to take all of the Ohio derailment waste shipments. About 1.8 million gallons of liquid waste have been collected from the derailment site.