Greater Cincinnati Water Works temporarily closed intake from the Ohio River, shown here flowing under the Cincinnati Southern Railway bridge near Ludlow, Kentucky, on Feb. 19, 2023. Photo: nyttend, Wikimedia Commons

Greater Cincinnati Water Works still has not found contaminants of concern in local water after the chemical explosion in East Palestine.

In a Feb. 20 update, GCWW said that after “extensive sampling,” the agency did not detect toxins from the derailment and explosion of the Norfolk Southern train that had been carrying a variety of chemicals. Those chemicals reportedly had been set to flow down the Ohio River and past Cincinnati over the weekend.

“GCWW did have an extremely low detection of the compound 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol in one sample collected in the river near the closed intake yesterday afternoon [Feb. 19]; however, there have been no detections since that time,” GCWW posted.

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On Feb. 17, GCWW announced that it would shut off water intake from the Ohio River to avoid chemicals that have been detected in the Ohio River since the explosion in East Palestine, about 280 miles northeast of Cincinnati. GCWW made the move “out of an abundance of caution,” officials said.

The city closed the intake and switched to water reserves at 2 a.m. Feb. 19. During that time, GCWW collected its samples. The agency reopened the river intake around mid-day Feb. 20, and GCWW is using “optimized treatment” for the water as a precautionary measure, it said. GCWW posts results from its tests online and regularly provides updates.

The chemicals released from the train derailment near the site include butyl acrylate, vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and ethylhexyl acrylate. They’re used in industrial processes including the production of lacquers, enamels, inks, adhesives, paint thinners and industrial cleaners, as well as plastic manufacturing. The colorless vinyl chloride has been associated with an increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal government’s National Cancer Institute.

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The EPA recently said hazardous materials were found in samples taken from waterways near East Palestine, including Sulphur Run, Leslie Run, Bull Creek, North Fork Little Beaver Creek, Little Beaver Creek and the Ohio River. East Palestine residents have said they’re experiencing skin rashes, nausea, burning eyes and other symptoms after the explosion of toxic materials, and some have started to meet with scientists and sign up for independent soil and water testing for their homes. Others have talked about seeing dead fish and animals nearby, shared concern for downriver towns and likened the entire incident to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl.

A variety of local, state and federal agencies continue to monitor and sample soil and water in Ohio and nearby states, and a number of elected officials have visited East Palestine or requested federal disaster funds.

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This article appears in Feb 8-21, 2023.