Orange County Residents Report ‘Unusual Odor’ and ‘Residue’ on Cars, Officials Say

Hawk's Nest outside Port Jervis overlooks the Delaware River in Orange County, N.Y., on Oct. 23, 2022. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Orange County health officials are investigating after residents in the region about 70 miles north of New York City reported an unusual odor in the air and residue on their cars, according to local officials.

Officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Orange County Fire Services Haz-Mat team visited the region on Friday to investigate.

The investigation was prompted after the county health department “received reports regarding residents smelling an unusual odor and seeing residue on their cars.”

“DEC’s comprehensive investigation into the odors reported in the #HudsonValley is ongoing. DEC staff determined that the odors are strongest in Orange County, indicating a localized source,” Orange County officials said on Facebook.

“No imminent public health or environmental threat was detected based on initial air readings taken by DEC,” the post continued. “We will continue to update the community as the investigation progresses.”

The New Windsor, Cornwall, and Washingtonville police departments also checked manufacturing businesses in the area for any releases or leaks, but found none, officials said.

Orange County is around 400 miles east of East Palestine, Ohio, where toxic chemicals were burnt off as part of a controlled released days after a train derailed on Feb. 3.

A black plume rises as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Cities Close Water Supply From Ohio River

On Feb. 3, a 50-car Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials such as vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical, derailed in East Palestine. Other potentially hazardous chemicals were also onboard.

To avoid a potential explosion, Norfolk Southern conducted a “controlled release” of the chemicals on Feb. 6, which involved burning the chemicals and releasing fumes into the air.

The subsequent burn-off of toxic chemicals has prompted concerns about the safety of public health and its environmental impact.

The cities of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Ashland, Kentucky, said Friday that they'd be closing their water supplies from the Ohio River.

The City of Cincinnati announced Friday that it will shut down its Ohio River intake to prevent any possible contamination from the train derailment “out of an abundance of caution.” This came one day after Greater Cincinnati Water Works said that water sample testing showed “no detectable levels of the chemicals” connected to the derailment as well as the controlled burn.

The city of Ashland said it would close off its water supply from the Ohio River while the plume passes downstream. Officials said that it was done as a precautionary move.

“We want to reiterate this is precautionary, and your water is safe to drink,” Ashland officials said in a statement Friday.

On Wednesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said that water in East Palestine’s municipal system is safe to drink. He said that water testing results showed “no detection of contaminants in East Palestine’s municipal water system.”

On Feb. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that it had stopped monitoring the community air for phosgene and hydrogen chloride the night before. Still, it would continue 24 hour community air monitoring for other “chemicals of concern.”

“After the fire was extinguished on Feb. 8, the threat of vinyl chloride fire producing phosgene and hydrogen chloride no longer exists,” the EPA explained.

The EPA’s last update about its community air monitoring efforts in East Palestine was on Feb. 15.

Meanwhile, the agency said it had, as of Feb. 16, “assisted with the indoor air monitoring of more than 500 homes.”

Oily Slick Near Crash Site

On Thursday. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) went to East Palestine and filmed a video at Leslie Run creek, located near the crash site, demonstrating how chemicals had leaked into the environment.

In the video, Vance scrapes a stick along the ground, causing an oily, rainbow-colored substance to bubble up and form on the surface of the shallow water. Other videos posted by a Fox affiliate reporter and a local woman showed a similar reaction.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) at Leslie Run in East Palestine, Ohio, in a Twitter video dated Feb. 16, 2023. (Screenshot of Twitter video/Courtesy of Sen. J.D. Vance’s Office)

“There are dead worms and dead fish all throughout this water,” Vance said in the video posted on Twitter. Sulfur Run flows into Leslie Run, which then flows into North Fork Little Beaver Creek, which flows into Little Beaver Creek, which then discharges into the Ohio River, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency said that recent tests in East Palestine show “there is no indication of risk to East Palestine Public Water customers.”

Norfolk Southern released a letter Thursday saying it will clean up the crash site and its CEO, Alan Shaw, pledged not to abandon the community. The letter was released as lawsuits started to pile up against the company.

“I know you also have questions about whether Norfolk Southern will be here to help make things right,” Shaw wrote. “My simple answer is that we are here and will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety and to help East Palestine recover and thrive.”

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.