Ohio officials say air quality in East Palestine is fine but not to drink the water

State health, safety and environmental officials said the air quality in and around East Palestine is what it was before authorities conducted a controlled burn of vinyl chloride from an tanker involved in a 150-car train derailment. That burn on February 7 produced a black cloud that could be seen for miles.

State leaders said they’re also watching water from the area following the toxic chemical release in that community along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said air quality testing shows it is the same as it was before. But Tiffani Kavalec, chief of Division of Surface Water for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), said they’re watching the cloud and how it could affect water systems.

“We know that there is a plume moving down the Ohio River,” Kavalec said.