EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The last loads of contaminated soil have been removed from the site of February’s East Palestine derailment, according to local news reports.
WKBN-TV reports the final excavation at the derailment site was completed Sunday evening. More than 175,000 tons of soil have been removed from the site, with Bob Scoble, Norfolk Southern manager, environmental operations, saying the work has required 30 to 100 truckloads per day.
“We’re confident we’re going to get everything,” Scoble told WEWS-TV. “If for some reason we missed something, we’re going to be here to get it.” Soil testing will continue over the next five to six months, while fresh soil and stone will be brought in to fill an area roughly the length of six football fields, according to the station.
NS’s costs as a result of the derailment are approaching $1 billion, company officials said during the railroad’s most recent quarterly earnings call. And its work to address the toxic chemical release following the Feb. 3 derailment is not yet done; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently ordered further cleanup of creeks near the site [see “EPA orders more work …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 19, 2023].
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