Where to get water tested after East Palestine, Ohio, spill?

Posted: Feb 11, 2023 / 04:05 PM EST

Updated: Feb 11, 2023 / 10:37 PM EST

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EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WJW) — More than a week after a train derailment in Columbiana County that spilled toxic chemicals, railroad workers are going door to door in East Palestine to meet with residents whose drinking wells may have been contaminated.

However, the task force assigned to the effort is comprised of workers from rail line operator Norfolk Southern, according to a Facebook post by East Palestine Police Department, leaving some online commenters skeptical.

“Can we get testers not affiliated with the responsible party?” asked one commenter. “It would put us residents at ease with the findings.”

Runoff from the derailment impacted the nearby Sulphur Run creek and other state waters, including their fish, Kurt Kollar with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency confirmed on Monday. He noted at the time there was “nothing to indicate a threat” to the village’s water supply, and that private drinking wells are designed to protect against surface contamination.

Police officials on Facebook were unable to provide a complete list of the wells that were “at-risk” of contamination. To reach the village’s Potable Well Task Group, call 330-849-3919.

Well owners who want to get their own sampling done can employ one of nearly a dozen laboratories around Ohio that are certified to test for volatile organic compounds, including the vinyl chloride spilled in East Palestine: