FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. West Virginia’s water utility says it’s taking precautionary steps following the derailment of a train hauling chemicals that later sent up a toxic plume in Ohio. The utility said in a statement on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2023 that it has enhanced its treatment processes even though there hasn’t been a change in raw water at its Ohio River intake. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)
Harrisburg, PA – In light of the ongoing clean-up efforts in East Palestine, Ohio, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency has launched an online train derailment dashboard in coordination with other relevant state agencies to better inform concerned residents in western Pennsylvania.
“As clean-up efforts continue, our agency wants to make sure residents had an easily accessible online resource containing accurate and relevant information to refer to if they have questions,” said PEMA Director Randy Padfield. “Our priority continues to be ensuring that every concerned resident has the information and resources they need to make important health and safety decisions for their families.”
Air and water monitoring has been in place since the incident began, including during the controlled vent and burn, the fire afterward and in the days since. Thus far, no concerning readings have been detected and state agencies and testing will continue for the foreseeable future.
The online dashboard is accessible at https://www.pema.pa.gov/