EPA pauses hazardous train waste coming to Indiana at Holcomb request - IndyStar

EPA pauses hazardous train waste coming to Indiana for more testing

EPA temporarily stops hazardous waste coming to Indiana landfill for additional testing
Sarah Bowman

Shipments of hazardous waste from the Ohio train wreck coming to Indiana have been put on pause, according to the state.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to pause shipping any further waste to an Indiana landfill until further testing can confirm there are no harmful levels of dioxins in the soil.

This news comes after at least three shipments of contaminated soil from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio have already been delivered to the landfill outside Roachdale, Ind. — which sits about 40 miles west of Indianapolis. The hazardous waste storage facility in Putnam County is operated by Heritage Environmental Services.

Holcomb and other state officials — including U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Attorney General Todd Rokita and Congressman Jim Baird — have expressed concerns and raised oppositions to the waste coming to Indiana. Those worries have been echoed by area residents, who have said they are uneasy about the waste coming to their community.

Train derailment: 'We don't trust you' — Indiana landfill neighbors don't want toxic waste from Ohio train

The latest concerns have focused around dioxins.

Dioxins are a chemical compound that takes a long time to break down once they are in the environment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They are "highly toxic" and can cause cancer, reproductive and development problems as well as damage to the immune system, as listed on the EPA website. Dioxins can be produced through industrial activities as well as through combustion processes and then attach to dust particles.

Holcomb announced last week that he was directing his administration to conduct testing of the hazardous materials that have already arrived in Indiana. They are working with a third-party laboratory, Pace Labs out of Minnesota.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management said that it was present for samples taken at the Heritage landfill on Saturday and they hope to have detailed results this week. The state said it will share those results with the public "in an effort to be open and transparent as soon as they become available."

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The Heritage landfill is not permitted to receive waste that is regulated for dioxins. It is unclear at this time what will happen to the waste that has already been received if dioxins are detected at above-threshold levels in the testing ordered by Holcomb.

It also is unclear what will happen if the EPA detects dioxins in the waste it is testing in Ohio. However, it raises questions if that waste will have to be diverted elsewhere than the Indiana landfill.

Environmental reporter Karl Schneider contributed to this report.

Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on The Scrub on Facebook.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.