DETROIT (WWJ) -- State and local officials are reacting to new reports from the Ohio state government that hazardous material from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment site are scheduled to be transported to a specialized landfill in Wayne County.
The derailment occurred just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, when an overheated wheel bearing caused the nearly 150-car train to decelerate before an automatic breaking system took effect. Around 50 cars derailed, 11 of which contained hazardous chemicals, including several carrying vinyl chloride, which is highly toxic.
In addition to the damage done at the actual derailment site, the spilling and burning off of toxic chemicals resulted in forced evacuations for local residents who now face valid health concerns from hazardous materials in the air, soil and ground water.
According to a Thursday news release from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's office, rail company Norfolk Southern has brought in dump trucks to haul away contaminated dirt from under and around the train tracks in the affected area.
At this time, Norfolk Southern intends to move the toxic material to U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal, which is a licensed hazardous waste disposal facility in Belleville -- located just northwest of the Belleville Rest Area off of westbound I-94.
On Friday, U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell put out a statement claiming that Ohio officials had not notified local lawmakers of the move.
"We were not given a heads up on this reported action," Dingell said in the news release. "Our priority is to always keep the people we represent safe."
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"We are making inquiries of EPA, DOT, Norfolk Southern, U.S. Ecology, the state of Ohio, and all others involved to understand what is being shipped, whether these are approved storage facilities, the implications of this decision, and how we ensure the safety of all Michigan residents."
At a Friday evening press conference, officials addressed the issue and provided more information. In attendance were Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans, U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib and Health and Human Services Director Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.
Right now, it appears that five trucks carrying 218,000 gallons of diluted vinyl chloride arrived at a Romulus facility earlier in the day. It is also believed that an unspecified number of truckloads of contaminated soil were brought to the Belleville disposal site earlier in the week.
Current concerns include the safety precautions that were taken during the transportation process, whether the facilities are licensed to properly contain a volatile chemical like vinyl chloride and whether the facilities -- which have been cited for regulator infractions in the past -- are up to code.
As to why these materials were shipped to Michigan, the facility in Romulus is one of only three disposal sites in the country approved to accept toxic waste of this nature. County Executive Evans did emphasize, however, that he is still waiting for confirmation that the site will safely contain vinyl chloride.
"We don't know," Executive Evans said, regarding the lack of information around the vinyl chloride delivery, "and I'm not here prepared to say this is in the best interest of the citizens of Wayne County... I think all of us would say 'take toxic materials somewhere else.'"
According to Rep. Dingell, an order was signed Friday morning, and the Environmental Protection Agency is now officially in charge of overseeing Norfolk Southern's cleanup and removal process. EPA officials have assured her of transparency and clear communication going forward.
Dingell also received confirmation from the EPA during the press conference that no more hazardous material will be shipped to Michigan at this time.
"I want to make one thing really clear," she said. "From the governor on down, our job -- and we will deliver on our job -- is to ensure that those that we represent are safe and that no one ever, ever again blindsides everybody the way they did on the delivery of this material."
At this point, 1.7 million gallons of contaminated liquid has been removed from the derailment site, with much of it transported to Texas Molecular and a smaller amount taken to Vickery Environmental in Ohio.
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