INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana will contract with an outside laboratory to conduct “rigorous” testing of the hazardous materials that are already being shipped from the East Palestine train derailment to an Indiana facility, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Thursday.
The announcement followed an earlier statement from the governor in which he pushed back on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to transport hazardous materials from the Ohio train derailment to a landfill in Roachdale.
Holcomb said he learned about the decision third-hand on Monday.
“All of us can agree that we should do everything within our control to provide assurance to our communities. This testing is the next necessary step,” the governor said in a written statement Thursday. “Since making this decision, we have informed the EPA and the site operator urging them to coordinate closely with this third party laboratory to carry out this important testing.”
Indianapolis-based Pace Labs is scheduled to start sampling “for dangerous levels of dioxins” on Friday, Holcomb said.
EPA officials said Thursday they will require Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins in Ohio, but made no mention of such action in Indiana. If dioxins are found at a level “that poses any unacceptable risk to human health and the environment,” the EPA said it will direct “the immediate cleanup of the area as needed.”
— The Indiana Capital Chronicle covers the state legislature and state government. For more, visit indianacapitalchronicle.com.
