Rep. Jim Baird has called for any further deliveries of soil from the Ohio train derailment to be halted until more testing can be done. The soil was brought to a landfill in Baird’s congressional district without any warning from the federal government. Baird wants to identify the necessary characteristics to ensure that the soil is safe before any more deliveries are made. While he trusts the work that Heritage Environmental will do to contain the toxic waste, he believes that the EPA should have coordinated with local officials before dropping off the soil. Gov. Eric Holcomb has also expressed dissatisfaction with the situation and is having the soil retested in Indiana by a third-party lab. The EPA had previously stated that they had notified states where the waste was being taken, but both Baird and Holcomb have disputed this claim. The soil is currently being tested for dioxins by the EPA in Ohio, and it remains to be seen if further deliveries will be made to Baird’s district.
