State Issues Warning About Fish After Chemical Spill in Southington, CT
Crews are cleaning up a chemical spill (Published 5 hours ago)
Emergency crews are investigating a 400-gallon acid spill at a metals company in Southington yesterday and testing the town's water as a precaution.
A mixture of chromium acid discharged from the roof vents of the Light Metals Coloring company on Spring Street around 10 a.m. on Wednesday and crews have been working to control it, officials said.
"It was a product called hexavalent chromium and it discharged from a roof vent onto the roof of the building, and it came down through the roof drains, into the parking lot, down the roadway, and down catch basins and affected the discharge to the Quinnipwiac River," said Ken LeClerc, DEEP’s emergency response coordinator.
Officials said preliminary tests show the discharge got to the river, but information on levels has not come back.
The DEEP is urging people not to eat fish caught in the Quinnipiac River because of the chemical spill.
"We recommend that people not eat any fish taken from the Quinnipiac River between West Queen Street and downstream to Route 10 - South Main Street - in Southington until we have an opportunity to determine the extent of any lingering contamination in the river resulting from a chemical release yesterday," Deputy DEEP Commissioner Susan Whalen said.
The town shut down two wells as a precaution, but they will be reopened.
As a precaution the Southington Water Department is also testing water to ensure it is safe for drinking.
"I have worked closely with the Southington Fire Department and the Plainville-Southington Health District along with many Town, State and Federal agencies on this response. Shane Lockwood, Director of Health of the Plainville-Southington Health District, said in a statement and added that “the actions taken by the Southington Water Company, and their response partners, were timely and done in an overabundance of caution”. Lockwood also stated there are a handful of private wells in the area and those residents have been notified and sampling is being conducted on those properties.”
Officials are also testing the air.
The chemical is used in the planting industry, has a Ph of 3 and contains heavy metals.
“It's a very heavy product, it settles out quickly, but unfortunately the only way to remove it from the base of the river of the drainage is to excavate the areas affected,” LeClerc said.
Crews said they had to remove 500 cubic yards of road and it will need to be repaved.
The building department, EPA, DEEP and the Coast Guard all responded.
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Town, Environmental Officials Studying Impact of Chemical Spill in Southington
The spill was at Light Metals Coloring on Spring Street in Southington.
By Chris Dehnel (Patch Staff) - August 25, 2016 2:59 pm ET
SOUTHINGTON, CT — Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Thursday that people should not eat fish taken from a stretch of the Quinnipiac River in Southington until results from water quality tests are available to assess the impact of a Wednesday chemical spill from a plant near the river in that town.
“We recommend that people not eat any fish taken from the Quinnipiac between West Queen Street and downstream to Route 10 – South Main St. – in Southington until we have an opportunity to determine the extent of any lingering contamination in the river resulting from a chemical release yesterday,” DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen said.
The Route 10/South Main Street portion of the river is downstream from where the Eight Mile River flows into the Quinnipiac and adds a significant volume of new water to it.
Deputy Commissioner Whalen said, “Water and soil sediment samples are being taken from the Quinnipiac today and we expect to have results to look at tomorrow. This will allow us to assess the effect of the chemical release on aquatic life in those waters.”
Regulations governing fishing designate the Quinnipiac River, as it flows through Southington, as a Wild Trout Management Area, where any trout caught by anglers must be released. It is possible, however, to catch other species of fish in those waters – which anglers are allowed to take.
Late Wednesday morning a release of hexavalent chromium was reported at Light Metals Coloring, 270 Spring St., Southington, according to DEEP Officials. The release is estimated at about 300 gallons, DEEP Officials said.
The DEEP is advising the public to stay away from the banks of the Quinnipiac River in this immediate area, because of the potential for contact with hexavalent chromium in the soils there. Hexavalent chromium is linked to long term adverse health impacts – and skin irritations can be an immediate effect of contact with it.
Hexavalent chromium is a salt-like substance – associated with public health impacts – that is mixed with liquids as part of the manufacturing process at Light Metals, according to DEEP Officials.
A malfunction in the system at the plant led to liquid containing the chemical to be released through roof vents, according to the DEEP. It then drained off the roof and through roof drains, onto a road surface, a driveway, and soils – and also into a catch basin system which carried some of it out to the nearby Quinnipiac River, officials said.
DEEP emergency response personnel responded to the scene and remain there today to supervise cleanup efforts of an environmental cleanup contractor hired by the company. Road and driveway surfaces as well as soils that were potentially exposed to the hexavalent chromium are being excavated and taken away for proper disposal, a news release indicates.
The storm drain system is also being cleaned and inspected to make certain waters flowing through it do not carry more of the chemical into the Quinnipiac River, according to DEEP officials. Sampling to help determine potentially contaminated areas is also being conducted in the waters of the Quinnipiac and along its shores, according to a news release.
The Southington Water Department is working closely with the Town’s Emergency Response Team to monitor the remediation process for the chemical spill at Light Metals Coloring Company located at 270 Spring Street. As a precaution two of the SWD’s wells were temporarily shut down until there was a better understanding of the amount, type and the remediation process of the chemical spill.
"We are confident the Town of Southington’s emergency response team has the situation under control and that there will be no adverse impact to the Town of Southington’s drinking water supply," DEEP Officials said. "However, as a safeguard SWD will be conducting a series of water quality samples to ensure the water supply remains safe for consumption.
"Throughout last night, and continuing throughout this response, air, water and soil sampling have been conducted around the site of the spill. At this time, we are confident that every action has been taken to protect the public health and the environment."
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Cancer-causing chemical seeps in to Quinnipiac River after spill in Southington Posted: Aug 24, 2016 11:04 PM EST Updated: Aug 25, 2016 3:04 PM EST
By Evan White
By Matt Campbell
By Rob Polansky
Crews work to clean up chemical spill at metal company in Southington (WFSB).
DEEP officials said residents should not eat any fish that is caught between South Main Street and Queen Street (DEEP) SOUTHINGTON, CT (WFSB) - Emergency crews continue to work to clean up a hazardous chemical spill at a business in Southington.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of gallons of a cancer-causing chemical called hexavalent chromium spilled out of the Light Metals Coloring Company at 270 Spring St., located near Graham Place.
The chemicals spilled onto the roof and were discharged through vents into the parking lot and road.
Crews said the spill happened after a crack formed in the water heating. Then, a boiler overflowed with gallons of the chemical.
"It ran off the roof through the drains, got into the storm system," said Chief Harold Clark, Southington Fire Department.
Crews are assessing the ground water situation in the area. Samples were taken in the Quinnipiac River basin as well as its sediment.
Light Metals said it was able to recover some of the material before it made it into the river.
However, officials confirmed that some of it spilled into the river.
People fishing in the area were told to catch and release. Local fisheries are also being monitored.
"Basically avoid the riverbank regardless," said Jeff Chandler, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
DEEP said it was on the scene along with Southington fire crews, the Coast Guard and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Jeff Chandler of DEEP said they're looking at a fourth of a mile of the river. DEEP hired Clean Harbors for the cleanup task.
There is no airborne threat, but DEEP said it's monitoring that front.
"It's a carcinogen. It is absorbable by the skin, you can inhale the dust, it can be ingested, all will cause problems," Chandler said.
Fire officials said 350 gallons of hexavalent chromium, which is widely used in various industries, spilled. They said three types of different metals are mixed in it.
DEEP said it expected to be out there all day on Thursday.
According to DEEP, workers noticed the leak Wednesday night in a boiler line that led to a chromium tank.
"It's a difficult product. There's no way to neutralize it. We've actually had to excavate the entire area of roadway. We are going to be removing approximately 5,000 square feet of the roof of the building," explained Kenneth LeClerc of DEEP.
Two drinking wells in Southington were shut down. The town water supply is not expected to be affected by the spill.
"There's no impact on the drinking water," Clark said. "It all stayed in the storm system and some of it did discharge into the Quinnipiac water basin."
Health officials, including superintendent Frederick Rogers and director Shane Lockwood, reiterated that in a statement.
We are confident the Town of Southington’s emergency response team has the situation under control and that there will be no adverse impact to the Town of Southington’s drinking water supply. However, as a safeguard [Southington Water Department] will be conducting a series of water quality samples to ensure the water supply remains safe for consumption.
Throughout last night, and continuing throughout this response, air, water and soil sampling have been conducted around the site of the spill. At this time, we are confident that every action has been taken to protect the public health and the environment.
DEEP also said there is no public health risk and that town drinking water is being tested out of an abundance of caution.
"It has some hazards to the public but not in this form," LeClerc said. "It's contained. We've been monitoring it. We've kept it secured."
Officials said not to eat fish from the Quinnipiac River in Southington because of the spill.
“We recommend that people not eat any fish taken from the Quinnipiac between Queen Street and Rt. 10 in Southington until we have an opportunity to determine the extent of any lingering contamination in the river resulting from a chemical release yesterday.” said DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen.
Hexavalent chromium can cause skin irritation and affect organs over the long term. The chemicals can be absorbed through the skin.
Its compounds are used in paints, dyes and plastics.
According to Light Metals' website, 100 people work there.
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Old Traditions
New Values
Pride. Craftsmanship. Attention to detail.
These are among the many strengths of Light Metals Coloring. For over 50 years, LMC has maintained a leadership position in finishing technology. From the earliest days, intense customer loyalty has been part of the way we do business.
The growing number of applications for aluminum, combined with LMC's reputation for customer service, have made this company one of the largest independent aluminum anodizing "job shops" in the country.
Today LMC employs over 100 people-among them some of the finest minds in the aluminum finishing trade.
New challenges face the modern finisher and we are proud of our ability to adapt and turn every challenge into an opportunity. Light Metals Coloring is committed to a conscientious manufacturing methodology. Aware of the need to protect our environment and maintain compliance with the regulatory agencies, LMC has invested significant resources in the development of "environmentally" sound processes.
You can feel good about working with Light Metals Coloring-both for the excellent work we'll do for you AND for the way we do it.
In order to stay extremely competitive, LMC has developed a specific chromating business unit, with it's own team leader that specializes in the chromating process. Each unit has it's own value stream manager who is trained to utilize LEAN techniques and to create single source responsibility to each customer. This cutting edge thinking is how you get the best quality, deliver and cost for your component.
Chromate conversion coating is a type of conversion coating applied to passivate aluminum, zinc, cadmium, copper, silver, magnesium, tin and their alloys to slow corrosion. The process uses various toxic chromium compounds which may include hexavalent chromium. The industry is developing less toxic alternatives in order to comply with substance restriction legislation such as RoHS. One alternative is trivalant chromate conversion which is not as effective but less environmentally damaging.
Chromating is commonly used on zinc-plated parts to protect the zinc from white corrosion, which is primarily a cosmetic issue. It cannot be applied directly to steel or iron, and does not enhance zinc's anodic protection of the underlying steel from brown corrosion. It is also commonly used on aluminum alloy parts in the aircraft industry where it is often called chromate conversion film. It has additional value as a primer for subsequent organic coatings, as untreated metal, especially aluminium, is difficult to paint or glue. Chromated parts retain their electrical conductivity to varying degrees, depending on coating thickness. The process may be used to add color for decorative or identification purposes.
Chromate coatings are soft and gelatinous when first applied but harden and become hydrophobic as they age. Curing can be accelerated by heating up to 70°C, but higher temperatures will gradually damage the coating over time. Some chromate conversion processes use brief degassing treatments at temperatures of up to 200°C. Coating thickness from a few nanometers to several hundred nanometers can be produced, but the Alodine and Modified Bauer-Vogel coatings on aluminium are typically a few micrometers thick.
The protective effect of chromate coatings on zinc is indicated by color, progressing from clear/blue to yellow, gold, olive drab and black. Darker coatings generally provide more corrosion resistance. Chromate conversion coatings are common on everyday items such as hardware and tools and usually have a distinctive yellow color. Steel parts must be plated with zinc or cadmium prior to chromating.