“We’re focusing on lessons learned when it comes to rail safety.”
CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, Liam Reilly and Betsy Klein rcontributed to this report.
CNN — The fallout from the toxic train derailment in Ohio keeps spreading to more states, as neighboring Pennsylvania announces new measures to keep its residents safe.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is opening a health resource center in Beaver County where residents “can talk to public health experts, sign up to have their well water tested, and learn about available resources from professionals there to help,” Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted Tuesday.
Beaver County is just across the state border from East Palestine, Ohio – a village of 5,000 struggling to understand the full breadth of consequences from the February 3 toxic train wreck that burned for days and led to the release of the dangerous chemical vinyl chloride.
New data analysis suggests that nine out of the dozens of chemicals that the US Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring are higher than what normally would be found in East Palestine, according to scientists from Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon universities.
If the levels of some chemicals remain high, it could pose a problem for residents’ health over time, the scientists said. Temperature changes or high winds might stir up the chemicals and release them into the atmosphere.
Concerns about the disaster’s fallout have also spread to Texas and Michigan, where officials said they had no warning that toxic waste from Ohio was headed to their states.
The EPA forced rail company Norfolk Southern to pause shipments of contaminated liquid and soil before announcing three EPA-approved sites in Ohio and another location in Indiana will process and dispose of the hazardous waste.
The EPA is holding that waste disposal to an “extremely rigorous standard,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.
As scrutiny mounts over the federal response, EPA Administrator Michael Regan will visit East Palestine for the third time on Tuesday to mark the opening of a new center where residents can meet with EPA and other agencies’ representatives to learn more about support services, regional EPA Administrator Debra Shore said.
Data analysis has revealed that the chemical with the highest concentration found in East Palestine was a substance called acrolein, scientists said.
Acrolein is used to control plants, algae, rodents and microorganisms. It is a clear liquid at room temperature and is toxic. It can cause inflammation and irritation of the skin, respiratory tract and mucous membranes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s not elevated to the point where it’s necessarily like an immediate ‘evacuate the building’ health concern,” said Albert Presto, an associate research professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, who is working on the university’s chemical monitoring effort in East Palestine.
“But, you know, we don’t know necessarily what the long-term risk is or how long that concentration that causes that risk will persist.”
Ohio officials have said East Palestine’s municipal water supply is safe to drink, citing multiple tests and the fact that the municipal water comes from five wells encased in steel deep underground.
But health officials warn those using private well water should get it tested before using it. More than 150 private wells in the East Palestine area have been tested, according to Gov. Mike DeWine’s office.
Across the border in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Environmental Protection has collected samples from “nearly every private well” in the state within one mile of the derailment site, the governor said.
The goal is to independently verify the safety of the water in Pennsylvania, Shapiro said.
He reiterated that “Norfolk Southern will pay for the entire cost of the clean up,” including reimbursing Pennsylvania county fire departments for “equipment that was damaged or contaminated while responding to the derailment.”
After the surprise shipments of hazardous waste to Texas and Michigan, the EPA approved two sites in Ohio to handle safe disposal of the waste: Heritage Thermal Services in East Liverpool and Vickery Environmental in Vickery, the agency announced Sunday.
Now, two more sites – Heritage Environmental Services’ hazardous waste landfill in Roachdale, Indiana, and Ross Incineration Services in Grafton, Ohio – will receive contaminated waste starting Tuesday, Shore said Monday.
Shore said she spoke with officials from Ohio and Indiana on Monday about the shipment of hazardous waste material to their towns.
The transportation secretary has called for Norfolk Southern and the rest of the freight rail industry to take a number of immediate actions, including committing to phase in safer tank cars by 2025.
The Department of Transportation also wants Congress to take up legislation that would increase the maximum fines the DOT can issue to rail companies for violating safety regulations, Buttigieg said.
He also called on the CEOs of major freight rail companies to “join a close-call reporting system that protects whistleblowers who spot issues that could lead to accidents,” Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday.
“We’re focusing on lessons learned when it comes to rail safety.”
CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian, Liam Reilly and Betsy Klein rcontributed to this report.