A truck carrying 40,000 pounds of contaminated soil from the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment crashed and overturned on Monday.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the tractor trailer, which had an open top, went off the road in Columbiana County around 1 p.m., hit an utility pole and overturned, spilling about half of its cargo. However, the Ohio EPA said the spill was contained and did not threaten any nearby waterways.
Phillip Falck, the 74-year-old driver, was “cited for operating a vehicle without reasonable control,” the highway patrol said. Falck suffered minor injuries in the crash, according to WKBN.
The soil was contaminated after the fiery Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train that was transporting hazardous chemicals in several cars. There were no injuries, but about half of the town was evacuated after the company decided to burn vinyl chloride off to prevent an explosion. Some of the chemicals leaked into the local environment.
Government officials have said testing hasn’t found dangerous pollution in the air or water, despite thousands of fish dying and some residents reporting symptoms like headaches, rashes and other health problems.
Long-term exposure to vinyl chloride as been linked to liver damage and cancer, according to the EPA. A report from The Guardian in March quoted a number of experts who said the rail operator’s testing process had significant flaws.
Norfolk Southern said earlier this week that it had already removed about 20,000 tons of contaminated soil, but more than 17,000 tons still need to be removed, according to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. According to Gov. Mike DeWine’s office, more than 11.4 million gallons of wastewater have been removed.
The EPA said in March that the waste disposal process would take about three months. So far the soil has gone to facilities in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Texas.
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