West Virginia authorities reiterated that the state’s drinking water remains safe after a train derailment in Ohio released a plume of toxic chemicals.
The chemical products that leaked from the derailment are being monitored as they move up the Ohio River but are not affecting drinking water supplies, authorities said during a briefing Thursday.
“We have not received any reports of this substance entering the water supply in any of the affected areas and no water advisories are being issued at this time,” said Matt Christensen, state health officer.
Some 50 train cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a major accident on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Later, five of those cars released vinyl chloride into the air before crews ignited it to dispose of the highly flammable toxic chemicals in a controlled manner, creating a plume of dark smoke.
Residents of nearby neighborhoods in Ohio and Pennsylvania were evacuated due to the health risks of the fumes, but have since been allowed to return.
Water samples were collected along the Ohio River Wednesday from Ravenswood to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Parkersburg is about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southwest of East Palestine. The samples detected butyl acrylate, one of the chemicals from the derailment, at levels below 3 parts per billion, said Scott Mandirola, deputy cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. The federal guide for drinking water has limits of 560 parts per billion, Mandirola said.
DEP spokesman Terry Fletcher said in an email that vinyl chloride is among the compounds being tested for and “no detectable levels have been identified.”
The leading edge of the chemical plume was estimated to be near Point Pleasant and the mouth of the Kanawha River. Mandirola said the inflow of water from the Kanawha River should add at least an additional 25% dilution on top of the mitigating effects of Thursday’s rains. The plume is estimated to reach the Huntington area late Friday or early Saturday. Huntington is about 265 miles (426 kilometers) southwest of East Palestine.
“So far, there is no danger to our drinking water,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said.
As a precaution, a utility company on Wednesday temporarily switched its drinking water source for the Huntington area to the Guyandotte River after installing pumping equipment and above-ground water lines.
Officials also said air monitoring stations in the northern Panhandle have not detected air quality problems from the derailment.
