EPA Update of the East Palestine Train Derailment Incident

Webinar Summary

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern training carrying hazardous substances derailed just east of downtown East Palestine, Ohio.  Three days later, a “vent and burn” operation was conducted to manage the potentially uncontrolled release of five railcars containing vinyl chloride, a highly volatile chemical.  EPA responders were notified and arrived on-scene within hours to support local and state response efforts.  Later that month, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Norfolk Southern to direct all cleanup and response activities.  This discussion will focus on three key areas:  the initial response and community impacts, extent of contamination and efforts to manage released hazardous materials, and the current situation including projected actions.  Some preliminary lessons learned will be discussed in each of the topic areas.

About the Presenter

Mark A. Durno
Homeland Security Advisor
U.S. EPA, Region 5

Mark Durno received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.  At EPA, Mark has served as an On Scene Coordinator, Supervisor, and Deputy Chief in the Emergency Response Branch of the Superfund Program in Region 5 since 1997.  He currently serves as Regional Homeland Security Advisor.  As part of his Homeland Security work, Mark coordinates Region 5’s Continuity of Operations and Disaster Recovery programs.  Mark is stationed in EPA’s Westlake, Ohio office.

Mark’s efforts have included numerous emergency response actions to chemical and oil spills in Region 5; support to national counter-terrorism planning and exercises; and, international biological response planning.   Notably, Mark has worked on or coordinated major incidents, including the Capitol Hill Anthrax response in Washington, D.C; Hurricane Katrina/Rita disaster response in Louisiana; the Flint Drinking Water Incident in Michigan; and the East Palestine Train Derailment Emergency in Ohio.  For his accomplishments, Mark was named EPA’s National On-Scene Coordinator of the Year in 2007, received a Gold Medal for Exceptional Service in 2017, and received EPA’s National Homeland Security Award in 2022.

Webinar Format

This will be an interactive session with "live chat" capability. The session is open to environmental engineering and science professionals across all sectors and career stages. Our objective is to offer special insights on leading edge solutions for graduate and undergraduate students as well as early to mid-career environmental professionals who are considering specialty certification.

AAEES Board Certified Individuals: Attend this event and earn 1.5 PDHs towards your PDH requirements for maintaining your specialty certification.

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