CHANGE Environmental was retained for their consulting expertise due to a train derailment located in East Palestine, Ohio carrying Highly Toxic Environmental Chemicals aboard.
A strategic sampling plan for air, soil and water was constructed to ensure a robust assessment was carried out. CHANGE collected Air, Soil and Water Samples from various locations within the community and near the derailment location in and around various box cars that carried hazardous material. Several railcars burned for more than two days, and emergency crews also conducted controlled burns of several railcars, which released hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. As a result, residents within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius were evacuated.
Both Indoor and Outdoor Samples were collected at each location with the concern and risk of the community members exposure to the toxic chemicals released at the time of the derailment.
Through the design of our testing protocols and understanding local meteorology we were able to identify and confirm in various locations near and around the derailment location high levels that were likely directly related to the derailment. The end result a settlement was dispersed to all local nearby plaintiffs and businesses affected by the derailment.
