WARSAW CHEMICAL, SITE OF FRIDAY FIRE AND TOXIC METHANOL RELEASE INTO WINONA LAKE, HAD BEEN CITED FOR UNSAFE CHEMICAL STORAGE
February 9,
2015
WARSAW, INDIANA:
Since 2006,
federal environmental inspectors have at least twice found hazardous or
flammable chemicals stored in an unsafe manner at a Northern Indiana chemical
plant where a large fire erupted Friday in an adjacent chemical-storage
building.
Fumes from
Friday's fire at Warsaw Chemical Co. forced the evacuation of 50 homes and sent
at least seven people to the hospital as a precaution after they complained of
burning eyes and lungs.
State
natural resources officers estimate that several thousand gallons of water from
firefighters' hoses mixed with chemicals, mostly methanol, washed into Winona
Lake, a popular recreation spot on the southeast edge of Warsaw, a city of
13,559 people in Kosciusko County.
Larry
Flory, owner of Fletcher's Bait & Tackle in Warsaw, said the chemicals were
so strong that they melted about a third of the ice on one side of the 562-acre
lake. He said ice fishermen who ventured out on the opposite side of the spill
found dead bluegill and other fish floating inside the holes they drilled.
"The
chemicals are pretty bad," he said.
The
chemical company, which employs about 80 people, makes a line of car wash
cleaners. Warsaw is about 40 miles southeast of South Bend.
An
Indianapolis Star review of state and federal environmental enforcement records
shows that federal inspectors had noted as recently as 2012 that chemicals were
being inappropriately stored at the facility, putting it at risk of a potential
fire or spill.
But plant
manager Vic Gamble said Monday that such issues "were all corrected at the
time," and no other enforcement actions are pending.
He said the
problems noted by federal inspectors did not contribute to Friday's fire, which
destroyed what's known as the "bulk plant" storage building behind
Warsaw Chemical's main facility.
He said the
cause of the fire is under investigation. Mike Brubaker, chief of the
Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, didn't respond to a message seeking comment.
In 2007,
the company entered into a $60,934 settlement agreement with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency stemming from numerous problems with hazardous
or flammable chemicals stored on site.
The
agreement says that during a 2006 inspection, the EPA found that the company
was storing some chemicals in unmarked containers, flammable waste drums were
left open, and 51 containers of hazardous flammable waste were stacked in
55-gallon drums without enough space between them to "allow the
unobstructed movement" of fire protection, spill control and
decontamination equipment and personnel.
The
inspectors also noted problems with Warsaw's emergency response plans and
training.
At the
time, the facility generated more than 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste a month,
but EPA records indicate that since the 2006 inspection, Warsaw discontinued
producing lacquer thinner. It now produces much less waste.
But, six
years later, an EPA inspector returned to the site for a follow-up inspection
and noted problems that led to another violation notice.
The EPA
inspector in 2012 found several waste containers that were either unmarked or
left open, according to EPA records.
In one part
of the plant, the inspector found several containers containing
"unidentified material" outside, next to a building.
"Warsaw
was not aware of what this material actually was," wrote Jamie Paulin, an
EPA chemist who performed the inspection.
Paulin also
noted that "hazardous constituents" were being stored on the floor
underneath a wastewater treatment unit, and the corrosion from the material had
caused "significant damage" to the floor and to a grated pit below.
The Indiana
Department of Environmental Management inspected the facility in 2013 and noted
some minor problems that included improper labeling of containers. But Amy
Smith, an IDEM spokeswoman, said the agency determined the material wasn't
hazardous and the company quickly complied with IDEM's demands, so it was
deemed back in compliance.
Friday's
fire began around 11 a.m. Police Lt. Kip Shuter said the fire shut down three
main roads on the east side of town.
Shuter said
firefighters worked for nearly three hours to contain the blaze as explosions
could be heard inside the storage facility.
"The
guys that went in the initial attack were pulled back because of the chemicals
and because of the heat," Shuter said.
He said
five waste water treatment workers and two firefighters complained of burning
eyes and lungs. The wastewater treatment workers had been called to try to stop
the flow into storm drains.
Shuter said
no one was seriously hurt and each of the victims was released from the
hospital after being checked out by doctors.
One Warsaw
Chemical employee suffered a small cut on his finger from grabbing a fire
extinguisher, but his injury was so minor that he was able to return to work to
finish his shift, said Gamble, the plant manager.
Meanwhile,
the Department of Natural Resources says a Fort Wayne environmental cleanup
crew was called in with large air compressors to pump oxygen into Winona Lake
to try to evaporate the contaminants that had washed in.
In a DNR
photo, the ice ringing the water in one part of the lake appeared stained a
bright green and blue. In the photo, a flock of Canada geese stood on the ice
nearby.
Noting that
the chemicals significantly thinned the ice, the DNR urged anglers not to
venture out on it because they might fall through. The DNR also urged them not
to eat any fish from the lake until their toxicity could be assessed.
