HAZMAT CREWS PROBE DISCOLORATION IN CREEK NEAR POTOMAC
RIVER IN BRUNSWICK, MARYLAND
"Our preliminary tests have shown that it doesn't appear to be toxic or hazardous, but we are still trying to discover exactly what it is and where it came from," said Lt. Jeremy Peterson, a county fire and rescue service spokesman.
Plant employees noticed a greenish substance in a creek that empties into the Potomac River just before noon today and called emergency first responders for a hazmat team to respond, said Patrick Hoffmaster, the plant manager.
The discoloration was spotted near a stormwater pipe that runs under CSX rail tracks and comes out to the Potomac River upstream of the city's wastewater treatment plant, said Brunswick City Manager Bob McGory.
"We have a couple of our workers and lab guys out helping to test the water, but we don't know what it is right now," Hoffmaster said. "We just happened to see it as we were going by."
County dispatchers confirmed that no roads were closed in the area, but the presence of fire and hazmat crews was blocking entrance to the Brunswick Family Campgrounds, McGory said.
Aside from county hazmat, crews were called to the area from Brunswick, Fort Detrick, and Lovettsville, Virginia, McGory said. McGory said that county fire Battalion Chief Kenneth Poole was in command of the response.