On February 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, approximately 67 miles from Summit County. While this is a devastating event for the area in which it occurred, according to Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, “There is no indication that our water or air have been impacted by the events in East Palestine.”
Regarding air quality in Summit County, “… the air pollution from the events was transported to the south and east by the winds,” said Sam Rubens, Administrator of the local air agency, Akron Regional Air Quality Management District, a service of Summit County Public Health. This is not in the direction of City of Hudson.
The aquifer that serves Hudson Water originates northeast of Hudson and travels in a southwest direction. It does not originate in the East Palestine area. The EPA requires we have a Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP), which is an Emergency Operations Plan specific to water operations. The City is also required to submit a Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) to the EPA which evaluates the vulnerabilities, threats, and consequences from potential hazards.
In addition to the Source Water Protection Plan, we have a general Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) with evaluates potential threats and provides action plans for various incidents.
We are continuing to monitor the situation in East Palestine and are looking at performing precautionary air and water testing to ensure that the quality is maintained. As we learn more from agencies involved in the East Palestine event, we will be updating our EOP with information received about lessons learned from the train derailment event.
View City of Akron, Summit County Public Health Statement.