Photo – The East Palestine train derailment on February 3rd, 2023 (Curtis Walsh)
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published February 15, 2023 1:35 P.M.

(Beaver County, PA) Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning joined Eddy Crow during Teleforum on Beaver County Radio to discuss details involving the East Palestine train derailment and the potential effects it could have on Beaver County. Manning was part of a meeting that took place Tuesday with Governor Josh Shapiro along with other elected officials State Senator Camera Bartolotta, State Representative Josh Kail, State Representative Jim Marshall, State Representative Robert Matzie, Beaver County Commissioners Dan Camp and Tony Amadio, and Beaver County Emergency Services Deputy Director Kevin Whipple.  Manning stated that Beaver County residents have no reason to be concerned about water or air quality.  Government leaders are confident in the test results that both the air and water are safe and they intend on being fully transparent with all results. He went on to add that even during the controlled release and explosion, air and water quality in Beaver County remained good.  Those in the immediate area near East Palestine, including Darlington Township and South Beaver Township, should not fear the air as it is safe to breathe and animals are safe to be outdoors.  They should only take precautions and request their water, soil and homes be checked if they have any water runoffs flowing into their property from East Palestine.  There are numerous concerns of contamination in the river beds of East Palestine leading to potential soil contamination, and Ohio is testing all homes in the affected area. All affected river beds are all flowing West towards Cincinnati, and no known affected tributaries flow into Beaver County. No evidence has been found after thorough testing that any contaminated water has flowed into the county. The State and Environmental Protection Agency will be digging long term test wells to ensure the safety of well water in Beaver County and that any evidence of water contamination that may arise is identified quickly.  It takes approximately 3 to 6 months for a chemical spill to contaminate an aquifer. The wells will be in place for at least a year.  Manning said neither Governor is happy with Norfolk Southern due to their lack of transparency and misinformation as the situation unfolded, including initially withholding the information of all chemicals on the train until afterward. Adding that he was “shocked” and “disturbed” by the fact that Norfolk Southern repaired the tracks so fast and reopened the railroad, stating that the soil and ground should have been properly remediated.  He also says Beaver County could have done a better job at communicating, but they worked with what they could and he is proud of how emergency responders handled things. Manning is also aware of evidence that Norfolk Southern could potentially be contacting affected residents to sign waivers for corporate checks, and the state Senate is working on preventing that. He ended by stating “people need to put their trust into these test results”, if something changes in Beaver County, residents will notified immediately.
Listen to the full interview here: