This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) In this photo provided by Melissa Smith, a train fire is seen from her farm in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in the Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below. (Melissa Smith via AP) An Ohio state trooper goes door to door telling residents to leave downtown East Palestine, Ohio, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) Smoke still billows from the remains of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) An employee of HEPACO works in a creek along Sumner Street in downtown East Palestine, Ohio, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) Equipment and gravel pile up along the railroad tracks in downtown East Palestine, Ohio, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) East Palestine police block roads in downtown East Palestine, Ohio, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) East Palestine resident Kathy Burr waits for help at the Norfolk Southern Assistance Center at the East Palestine Community Center on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. Ms. Burr says she had smoke from the train derailment billowing in her home. A smoldering tangle of dozens of derailed freight cars, some carrying hazardous materials, has kept an evacuation order in effect in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line as environmental authorities warily watch air quality monitors. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Ohio Governor Mike DeWine points to a map of East Palestine, Ohio that indicates the area that has been evacuated as a result of Norfolk Southern train derailment, after touring the site, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine meets with reporters after touring the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) A road in East Palestine, Ohio, is blocked after residents within a one-mile radius surrounding the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment were forced to evacuate for fear of an explosion, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, right, prepares to meet with reporters after touring the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Authorities say air monitoring hasn’t detected dangerous levels of fumes in communities where crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a derailed train. But they said Tuesday that Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage still aren’t being allowed in their homes.(Ohio National Guard via AP) This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Authorities say air monitoring hasn’t detected dangerous levels of fumes in communities where crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a derailed train. But they said Tuesday that Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage still aren’t being allowed in their homes.(Ohio National Guard via AP) An Ohio State Trooper car sits parked next to a blockade in East Palestine, Ohio, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. About 50 cars, including 10 carry hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night. Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage were forced to evacuate the area and aren't being allowed into their homes, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos) A road closure sign stands in East Palestine, Ohio, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. About 50 cars, including 10 carry hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night. Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage were forced to evacuate the area and aren't being allowed into their homes, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos) This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Authorities say air monitoring hasn’t detected dangerous levels of fumes in communities where crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a derailed train. But they said Tuesday that Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage still aren’t being allowed in their homes.(Ohio National Guard via AP) This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Authorities say air monitoring hasn’t detected dangerous levels of fumes in communities where crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a derailed train. But they said Tuesday that Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage still aren’t being allowed in their homes.(Ohio National Guard via AP) This photo provided by the Ohio National Guard, ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Authorities say air monitoring hasn’t detected dangerous levels of fumes in communities where crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a derailed train. But they said Tuesday that Ohio and Pennsylvania residents living close to the wreckage still aren’t being allowed in their homes.(Ohio National Guard via AP) This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Evacuated residents can return to the Ohio village where crews burned toxic chemicals after a train derailed five days ago near the Pennsylvania state line now that monitors show no dangerous levels in the air, authorities said Wednesday.
Around-the-clock testing inside and outside the evacuation zone around the village of East Palestine and a sliver of Pennsylvania showed the air had returned to normal levels that would have been seen before the derailment, said James Justice of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Hundreds and hundreds of data points we’ve collected over the time show the air quality is safe," he said.
Residents were ordered to evacuate when authorities decided on Monday to release and burn five tankers filled with vinyl chloride, sending hydrogen chloride and the toxic gas phosgene into the air.
Monitors did detect toxins in the air during the controlled burn at the derailment site, but other samples outside that area did not, Justice said.
The village's mayor expressed relief that the evacuation had been lifted.
“We know everybody’s frustrated. Everybody wants to be in their homes. We did the best we can," said Mayor Trent Conaway. “The number one goal is public safety, and we accomplished that. Nobody was injured, nobody died.”
He credited the village’s part-time firefighters and their quick response to the derailment for saving the town.
Some residents have said they were worried about returning even if authorities say it's OK to go home despite reassurances from officials.
It’s unlikely though, Justice said, that there be would any dangerous levels of toxins inside any homes or businesses based on readings from air monitors around the community.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said some residents may want to wait until their homes are checked. Rail operator Norfolk Southern Railway said it would provide testing and continue to operate its family assistance center “for the foreseeable future.”
“It’s very understandable you may want that testing done before you go back in your house,” DeWine said.
The governor said the railroad will have to pay for the cleanup and make sure something like this doesn't happen again. “The burden is upon them is to assure the public that what they do everyday is safe,” DeWine said.
Testing on rivers, streams and drinking water wells will continue throughout the area and in the nearby Ohio River.
Kurt Kollar, a representative from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said contaminants from the derailed tanker cars spilled into some waterways and were toxic to fish, but he added that data so far indicates the drinking water was protected.
The fire from the chemical release is no longer burning, and crews have started removing some of the wreckage.
About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night on the edge of East Palestine. Federal investigators say a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the derailment.
No injuries have been reported from the derailment or from the controlled release of the chemicals, but some people complained about smelling chlorine and smoke in the air and having headaches.
At least one lawsuit has been filed over the derailment. An East Palestine business owner and two other residents sued Norfolk Southern in federal court on Tuesday, alleging negligence by the company and exposure to toxic substances as a result. They’re seeking to make it a class-action case for residents and businesses in the evacuated area and people who were physically harmed because of spilled chemicals at the site.
Norfolk Southern declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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