East Palestine man questions official test results about his private well water
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (KDKA) — City water in East Palestine, Ohio, has been deemed safe to drink, but the safety of private well water has been murky since the Feb. 3 derailment.
Water woes have not washed away with time. Five miles away from what's now referred to as ground zero, well water is being tested.
"Columbiana County Health Department said that there was no detection of any chemicals that was on the derailment in your well water," Russell Murphy told KDKA-TV.
Murphy, who lives near Leslie Run, said he does not necessarily trust the results.
"I am very skeptical of that," he said.
Since the derailment, Murphy and his family won't drink the water and they won't give it to their horses, which drink about 30 gallons a day.
"If something happened to them horses, Norfolk Southern would have hell to pay," Murphy said.
Despite being told by the Columbiana County Health Department that the water is considered OK, the family noticed last weekend that their water had the same oily-looking sheen as Leslie Run.
"The uncertainty, it's everywhere," Murphy said. "I never even knew what the word anxiety meant."
Murphy said there is one thing that is certain. He said it will be a while before he drinks the water.
"So far, one test is all we've got, and I hope it's not a one and done," Murphy said.
"The Columbiana County Health Department did say that they will test again, and that's how we left it," he added.
Murphy invited KDKA-TV to another property he owns where that well was being tested, but we were told by Norfolk Southern and the health department that we were not permitted to film.