WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Mayors and township supervisors from Wayne County are coming together to call for a “permanent halt” on any further importation of toxic waste from the Ohio train derailment site after several tons were transported to Michigan.
Thousands of yards of soil have been excavated from a site in East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailed on Feb. 3 and leaked toxic chemicals. Liquid and solid toxic waste from the site will soon be transferred to two locations in Ohio that were approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, which paused shipments of toxic waste just days ago so that the agency could better oversee the process.
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But before that pause, some toxic waste was already transported to Michigan and to Texas. About 15 truckloads of solid waste were transported to US Ecology, a waste disposal company in Van Buren Township that specializes in hazardous waste.
In response, the Conference of Western Wayne -- a group of 18 mayors and township supervisors in Wayne County -- on Monday demanded a “permanent halt on any importation of toxic waste” from the site of the train derailment “disaster” in Ohio.
“The Conference of Western Wayne represents nearly 730,000 residents who depend on us to fight for clean water and air. The safety of Wayne County families is our number one priority and that is why we support Romulus, Van Buren Township and Wayne County in their opposition to being the dumping ground for Ohio’s hazardous material,” said David Glaab, Huron Township supervisor and conference chair. “It is not a Michigan problem, and it must not become one.”
According to the CWW, sites in Romulus and Van Buren Township were selected to permanently store some of the contaminated waste. Federal environment authorities said over the weekend that shipments of the contaminated waste would continue Monday and would go to two approved sites in Ohio.
Federal authorities say some liquid waste will be disposed of in an underground injection well at a facility in Vickery, Ohio. Solid waste will reportedly be shipped to an incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. Other locations were being sought, according to Debra Shore, Region 5 administrator of the EPA -- though it was unclear as of Sunday just where those other locations might be.
“While there has been a pause on the importation, we are calling on the EPA to publicly commit that there will be a permanent halt and that this hazardous material will never be sent to Wayne County,” Glaab said.
Members of the conference are reportedly working with officials to obtain a permanent halt on importing contaminated soil and water from Ohio to Michigan.
Wayne County and state officials said last week that they were blindsided and irritated by the waste shipments coming in to Michigan. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell said Friday that she got a text from the EPA informing her that no additional hazardous material would be delivered to Wayne County.
On Feb. 3, 38 Norfolk Southern cars derailed on the outskirts of the Ohio town, near the state’s border with Pennsylvania. No one was hurt in the derailment, but the area was evacuated due to concerns of a potential explosion caused by hazardous chemicals being transported in the rail cars.
Officials decided to release and burn the toxic vinyl chloride that was being transported in what was called a “controlled burn.” Ohio and federal officials have since told residents that it’s safe to return to the area, and that air testing has not detected concerning levels of contaminants. Still, residents are concerned about the chemicals they’ve been exposed to and what impact that may have on their health and futures.
Vinyl chloride is known to cause cancer and can be lethal.
More: Did dioxins spread after the Ohio train derailment?
Before being transported, contaminated soils are often pretreated to avoid spreading contamination during travel. Pretreatment may look like using tarps, liners, chemical neutralizers, foam or even water to tamp down dust, officials say.
While the EPA has strict standards and tracks the movement of the toxic waste, it was unclear what pretreatment measures were in place when the waste was transported to Michigan.
Below is a statement made to Local 4 by US Ecology:
“US Ecology is a leading provider of environmental solutions for the recycling and disposal of waste, and the company has comprehensive compliance programs in place to protect the environment.
“The U.S. EPA is leading decisions regarding the classification of wastes from the East Palestine train derailment, and US Ecology’s landfill in Belleville, Mich., expects to begin receiving contaminated soil today. The low level of contaminants in the soil is well within the acceptable amount for disposal in our landfill.
“This state-of-the-art landfill was developed in accordance with federal regulations and is routinely inspected by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.”
US Ecology
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