EPA Project Manager Eric Pohl gives residents an update of remediation and cleanup efforts of the 2023 train derailment during a council meeting on Monday. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

EAST PALESTINE — Monday’s meeting of East Palestine Village Council began with an update by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and turned into a conversation about public health. The conversation heated up when one resident grilled Mayor Trent Conaway on what she considers refusal by the village to address health concerns two years after the train derailment and chemical spill.

Jami Wallace addressed council following the EPA’s presentation that detailed the status of the cleanup and she zeroed in on vapors of derailment-related chemicals that were discovered at the municipal building in mid-February of 2023. The federal EPA reported indoor air contamination in village hall due to unplugged drainpipes and Sulphur Run, which was heavily contaminated in the derailment, running beneath the building. The village had the EPA test the air quality after an employee experienced chemical-exposure symptoms, according to a paper published by Dr. Andrew Whelton, Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, in the journal of The Royal Society of Chemistry in 2024.

Wallace said she asked Conaway for results from that test but was told to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, rather than simply being provided a copy.

Conaway confirmed the village did reach out to the EPA and the air was tested.

“Yeah, we knew about it. We called the EPA and they came down and tested it after we had concerns about it,” Conaway said. “We had the test results when they were here. There’s a record of it somewhere.”

Wallace asked why the public didn’t know about it.

“You have a whole group of residents saying that ‘we’re sick, there’s vapors coming into our house’ and you have the same vapors coming into the municipal building,” Wallace said. “I feel like it would be the village government’s job to let the residents know.”

“The vapors were coming in because there was an open hole to a creek below,” Conaway interrupted.

“Right,” Wallace said. “Then why didn’t you say ‘maybe we need to test homes too?’ So there was no reason to tell residents there was vapor intrusion, including in this building? Is that what you are saying?”

Many residents have pointed to the Sulphur Run as a “pathway to exposure” that the EPA has maintained doesn’t exist. The EPA conducted over 700 home re-entry indoor air screenings in the month following the derailment, but declined to do any further air testing inside homes despite pleas from residents, former Sen. Sherrod Brown and current Vice President JD Vance to do so. Recently, the EPA reported vapor intrusion testing on various businesses at or near “ground zero” was complete and no alarms raised.

Whelton’s paper reports that chemicals spilled into Sulphur Run flowed through East Palestine, as well as directly by and underneath more than 130 residential, commercial, and municipal buildings in the village. Wallace asked why homes were not given the same level of priority and treatment as village hall was when it came to potential vapor intrusion.

Conaway doubled down by insisting that he “had even never heard the term vapor intrusion” before Wallace began using it.

The term vapor intrusion has been repeated over and over again in East Palestine — in fact sheets provided by EPA and updates given by the agency, by residents concerned about lingering contamination, by journalists covering the rail disaster, by scientists studying it and most recently by the village itself when and selling purchasing real estate. The EPA states that vapor intrusion occurs when there is a migration of vapor-forming chemicals from any subsurface source into an overlying building.

Wallace also questioned why public health isn’t discussed more by village leaders and accused the local government of dismissing those who experience symptoms they say are linked to the derailment. She also asked why council hasn’t taken a more proactive approach to address public health concerns by inviting those conducting health studies to address the council and the community.

Conaway suggested that a special meeting would be needed, but no member of council made a motion to hold such a meeting.

Wallace wasn’t the only resident to raise public health concerns. After the EPA finished its update — EPA project manager Eric Pohl, EPA on-scene coordinator Mark Durno and EPA scientist Michelle Kerrr were among those who spoke — one resident voiced distrust in the contractors that Norfolk Southern hired to conduct remediation. Another expressed frustration that her property close to the derailment site is yet to undergo water or soil testing two years later. Others said they were concerned whether or not the village drinking water would be safe years from now.

The EPA insisted that all data and science indicates no health risk to those in the village. All soil sampling is complete with all pockets of contamination found during Appendix E “doublecheck” sampling spot excavated and removed. The streams, which Pohl said were heavily impacted by the derailment, will undergo another assessment, but the EPA was optimistic that previous remediation efforts were successful.

Also at monday’s meeting:

— Council made a motion to enter into a nomination process for a non-binding loan or grant to complete improvements at the water treatment plant.

— Village manager Antonio Diaz-Guy said the village and Norfolk Southern are in regular weekly contact to keep the $25 million park project on track. He also said that community feedback would be gathered before any decisions are made regarding trims to the park plans needed to stay in budget.

— Council heard that planning to celebrate East Palestine’s 150 years is ongoing and some plans should be solidified soon and shared at the next council meeting.

— Residents were advised that monitoring of the recycling bins behind the village hall would be increased.

— Council approved a request to re-advertise for the position of Law Director.

— It was reported that residents who rented shelters or space in the community center for 2025 have the option of cancelling those reservations without penalty or keeping the same day in 2026 due to the ongoing construction at the park and cancellation of fireworks by emailing M.martin@eastoleastine-oh.gov.

— Council learned Steve Baird, head of the street department, attended an OMEGA-sponsored meeting and identified several grant opportunities.

— Council announced that the Ohio Audit began on Monday.

— Council held first reading of four pieces of legislation. They were ordinances to amend cemetery regulations regarding time decorations can be left on graves, advertise for bids for the 2025 paving project, amend the village’s investment policy and amend Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) regulations to attract new construction and businesses to the village.

elverd@mojonews.com