Month after derailment EPA to require Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins
happening right now. A meeting in East Palestine where people can express their frustrations over the ongoing impacts of the toxic train crash. Chief investigative reporter Bennett Haverly has been following the aftermath quite closely. Yeah, he's here with a look now at the latest issues that are still concerning along with new information tonight from NTSB Bennett. Yeah, Lindsay Andrew, the NTSB says it has concerns about what happened to some of those tank cars. And this afternoon we also learned the EPA will now require Norfolk Southern to sample for dioxin. That's a pretty good question.
That's a problematic pollutant that has been a concern of residents for weeks. Contractors have removed 1400 tons of contaminated soil from the site where a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed nearly a month ago. Along with that soil, the railroad says 2 million gallons of wastewater have been hauled off for disposal. But residents here still have concerns about the impact of the toxic chemical disposal. Residents here still have concerns about what contaminants might be stirred in the air through street cleaning or what chemicals might still be lurking in well water, groundwater or area creeks. In a letter Thursday to Senator Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, the administrator of the EPA and Ohio EPA's director said quote out of an abundance of caution, the EPA will continue to sample for indicator chemicals and will also require Norfolk Southern to begin sampling directly for dioxins. Adding to concerns, researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Texas A&M universities tweeted out last week that they analyzed the EPA's air samples from East Palestine and found nine out of the 50 chemicals the APA reported are higher than normal, adding that if levels continue, they may be of health concern.
I'm raising three granddaughters. They've had rashes. They've been sick. East Palestine residents met Thursday with famed environmental activist Erin Brockovich, who's been critical of the response and the environmental cleanup efforts. I'm sorry. Something is not right here. Agency failures and a really great community of really great people that deserve answers and not just leave them here sitting and guessing what their future will be and getting this information takes time.
The NTSB also released this updated report with photos showing how fire melted the aluminum housing covers on some of the tank cars. Their concern, the melting metal, could have impacted how those pressure release valves performed after the derailment. They now want the rail industry to take a closer look at its tank car fleet. And as we mentioned, that three hour meeting is underway right now at the East Palestine High School. Federal agencies responding to this disaster are expected to be there to answer some questions. So are representatives from Norfolk Southern, who by the way, bowed out of the previous meeting, had a fear for their workers safety. And Norfolk Southern CEO will testify before the Senate next week about the train crash.
We asked Senator Sherrod Brown what he wants to come out of that hearing. And that he will will live up to the to the promises they've made to make people whole. I mean, they they need to reimburse people for their for their hotel stays because they fled their homes for the cleaning of their homes. Before they move back in, they need to reimburse the local community for replacing or moving its fire station. They need to reimburse for all the testing.
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