Wastewater from Ohio train derailment to be treated in Maryland, officials say
by WBFF Digital Team
FILE - This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio, are still on fire on Feb. 4, 2023. The major freight railroads announced a number of steps Wednesday, March 8, 2023, that they are taking to improve safety in the wake of last month’s fiery Ohio derailment, but it’s not clear if their actions will be enough to satisfy regulators and members of Congress who are pushing for changes. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
MARYLAND (WBFF) —
On Friday it was announced that wastewater from the Ohio train derailment will be treated at Baltimore's wastewater treatment site.
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A letter to the Baltimore City Bureau of Water and Wastewater states:
It has been determined that Clean Harbors of Baltimore, Inc. (Clean Harbors), is an optimal wastewater treatment site to treat and discharge the wastewater collected from rainwater, collected water, and stream water above and below the cleanup site of the Norfolk Southern Railroad derailment in East Palestine, OH that occurred February 3, 2023.
Mayor Brandon Scott released a joint statement from Baltimore County and Baltimore City regarding East Palestine, Ohio wastewater announcement.
"The Baltimore City Department of Public Works was notified by Clean Harbors Environmental Services that it was selected by the EPA to accept, treat, and discharge the wastewater collected from rainwater, collected water, and stream water above and below the cleanup site of the Norfolk Southern Railroad derailment in East Palestine, OH that occurred on February 3, 2023. Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of a number of facilities in locations around the country selected to process this material.
Both the City and the County teams have been in touch with the Governor’s office as well as with the EPA. State and federal officials have assured us they are confident in the facility’s ability to process this material. However, we have tasked our teams to do their due diligence to be certain that there is no risk to the health and safety or our residents and our environment. Additionally, we are seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the City’s requirement to treat and discharge the waste from the Norfolk Southern Railroad derailment at Back River.
Clean Harbors of Baltimore will begin receiving 675,000 gallons of wastewater "immediately" once approval is granted.
Clean Harbors will treat the wastewater by filtering through the collected carbon.
The proposed treatment scheme will be carbon adsorption using 4x12 mesh reagglomerated (collected) carbon followed by inorganic metals removal as needed. The primary constituent of concern is vinyl chloride. Data provided from Norfolk Southern indicate vinyl chloride between None Detect (ND) of 1 ppb to 62 ppb. Data provided by Arcadis indicates PFOA and PFOS at 9.4 ppt and 8.7 ppt respectively in a 5 sample composite, just over EPA’s proposed drinking water standard of 4 ppt, with most other samples being ND.
Mayor Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski made this announcement at a press conference on Friday.
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