EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - Monday marked a milestone in the nine-month-long effort to remove soil contaminated from the February 3 derailment, chemical spill, and fire along Norfolk Southern railroad tracks in East Palestine.

The last truckload of soil drove off from East Taggart Street on Monday morning. Since cleanup efforts began, the EPA estimates that more than 171,381 tons of solid waste have been shipped.

Village officials are changing the response to the Officials in the Village of East Palestine say excavation of contaminated soil from February's train derailment is expected to be completed within the next few days.

With the excavation completed,  there are some changes in the Village's response to the derailment.

A 24/7 air monitoring and sampling network managed by EPA and Norfolk Southern will remain active. Air monitoring will continue, but will be adjusted to account for task-specific activities to ensure worker and community safety are prioritized.

More than 115 data points and more than 18,000 samples have been collected. To date, no sustained monitoring readings or analytical results above site-established action levels have been reported since the lifting of the evacuation order.

The EPA's Community Welcome Center will move to appointment-only meetings starting Monday, November 13. The EPA will still maintain its information line at 330-775-6517 during normal business hours Monday through Friday.