EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine repeated again Wednesday morning that East Palestine residents are safe in returning to their homes amid ongoing concerns after last week’s controlled release of chemicals in connection with the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
“We continue to test the air. We continue to test the water. We’ve done that, really, since the beginning,” Gov. DeWine said during an interview on MSNBC Wednesday morning one week since the area’s evacuation order was lifted. “Before we told them they could go back, we had readings that indicated the air was what it was before the train wreck even occurred.”
Gov. DeWine then reiterated residents should only drink bottled water out of an abundance of caution as they continue testing water at different stages as it goes out toward the Ohio River.
“We got our first tests back from one of the wells last night,” Gov. DeWine said in the MSNBC interview, which you can watch in full below. “The test was fine. We would expect today or tomorrow to get the other well tests back. As soon as we get those back we’ll make that available to the public.”
Gov. DeWine's office later released the latest results regarding water tests in East Palestine as of 3 p.m. Wednesday. Here's their full statement:
Municipal Water Testing Results:
New water testing results have been returned to the Ohio EPA. These results show no detection of contaminants in raw water from the five wells that feed into East Palestine’s municipal water system.
Test results from the combined, treated water from all five wells also showed no detection of contaminants associated with the derailment.
With these tests results, Ohio EPA is confident that the municipal water is safe to drink.
Additional Information on the East Palestine Municipal Water System:
East Palestine’s municipal water system, which provides drinking water for most area residents, takes in water from five wells that are located approximately one mile from the derailment site. The municipal wells are at least 56 feet below the surface and are covered by a solid steel casing that protects the water from contamination. Before drinking water is made available to the public, water from these five wells is combined at the water treatment plant and treated.
Although it was unlikely that any contaminants entered the wells that serve the municipal water supply, Ohio EPA tested the combined, treated water soon after the derailment. Those tests showed no contamination.
Out of an abundance of caution, Ohio EPA took samples of raw, untreated water directly from all five wells over the past week. A new sample of the combined, treated water was also collected.
As noted above, new testing results from the five wells, as well as the treated water sample, showed no evidence of contamination associated with the derailment.
Private Water Wells:
Because private water wells may be closer to the surface than the municipal water wells, the Ohio EPA recommends that those who receive drinking water from private water wells schedule an appointment for well water testing by an independent consultant.
For information on how to schedule your private water well for testing, call 330-849-3919. The Ohio Department of Health encourages those with private wells to use bottled water until their well water testing results are returned.
Meanwhile, when asked if he would send his own family back home if they lived in East Palestine, Gov. DeWine said yes.
“We’re going to continue to test the air, we’re going to continue to test the water,” he said. “But what that is indicating is that it is very, very safe. We’re relying on the experts. The U.S. EPA has been in. The Ohio EPA has been in. Both the local health department, the state health department they’ve been there from the beginning. We’ve been as transparent as we can. We tell people exactly what we know.”
However, residents 3News spoke to Wednesday weren't so sure. While air quality readings keep coming back clean, people are still complaining of odors and potential health problems.
"I've been having pains in my stomach, I've been having trouble breathing, even just sitting around my house," East Palestinian Dianna Smith said. "There's no cause of that, because I only do that when I walk because of my COPD. But just sitting around there that night, I know I smelled those chemicals bad."
For those not feeling comfortable returning home, Gov. DeWine said the railroad has offered to pay for hotels.
“The railroad has said they’ll pay for anyone to stay in hotels,” he continued. “They have been doing that. If anyone has concerns they can continue to do that. The railroad is responsible for all of this. We’re going to hold them to that. Those are certainly options for people. I understand. If I had a family there, I understand people are concerned. What we’re trying to do, and have tried to do from the beginning, is just to make sure we’re giving them all of the information that we have.”