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OEPA: Particles in air pose no danger to area residents

Graphic by Ted Pitts View the location of the Veolia Environmental Services plant.

An overnight explosion and fire in West Carrollton at an industrial plant on Infirmary Rd. was still burning early Monday, May 4.

Staff photo by Ty Greenlees An overnight explosion and fire in West Carrollton at an industrial plant on Infirmary Rd. was still burning early Monday, May 4.

Chemical Plant on Infirmary Rd in West Carrollton, causes quite a disturbance as it explodes into flames around 12:00 am Monday May 4th, 2009.

Photo by Robert Leifheit for the Dayton Daily News Chemical Plant on Infirmary Rd in West Carrollton, causes quite a disturbance as it explodes into flames around 12:00 am Monday May 4th, 2009.

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Robert Leifheit/Chemical Plant on Infirmary Rd in West Carrollton, causes quite a disturbance as it explodes into flames around 12:00 am Monday May 4th, 2009.

Photo by Robert Leifheit for the Dayton Daily News Robert Leifheit/Chemical Plant on Infirmary Rd in West Carrollton, causes quite a disturbance as it explodes into flames around 12:00 am Monday May 4th, 2009.

Cleanup at the Veolia Environmental Services plant will be monitored

By Steve Bennish, James Cummings, Tom Gnau and Tom Beyerlein
Staff Writers Updated 12:06 AM Tuesday, May 5, 2009

WEST CARROLLTON — Air monitoring at the Veolia Environmental Services plant showed no danger of hazardous substances to local residents, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency official said Monday, May 4.

Monitoring of the air at and near the plant at 4301 Infirmary Road was performed from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., said Jim Crawford, OEPA Emergency Response On-Scene Coordinator.

The OEPA and the U.S. EPA have turned over cleanup of the plant to the company, which will continue the cleanup under monitoring by the OEPA. Veolia will be cleaning up chemicals, debris as well as sampling groundwater as part of the process, Crawford said.

The material was burning in the hours after the explosion and fire included solvents and blends for fuels, he said, noting that some fumes escaped during the fire but air sampling showed particulate matter was blown throughout the neighborhood.

The explosion and fire shortly after midnight sent four of six workers to hospitals, according to the company.

One worker was evaluated and released, another was treated and released and two were admitted, according to the company, which did not identify the workers.

West Carrollton Fire Chief Jack Keister said one worker suffered first- and second-degree burns and another suffered a leg injury.

About the man with the leg injury, Keister said, “At first we thought he was deceased. He came walking out of the woods about three hours into the fire.”

The man had fled into a nearby wooded area, and officials thought he was dead because people could not find him.

Keister said the explosion knocked small buildings on-site off their foundations.

Several massive storage tanks were on fire when firefighters arrived, the chief said, noting that numerous chemicals are treated at the plant as the company accepts dirty industrial solvents and cleans them for reuse.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, organic or carbon-based solvents are found in paints, varnishes, lacquers, adhesives and degreasing and cleaning agents. They’re also used in making dyes, plastics, textiles, inks, agricultural products and pharmaceuticals.

Keister said firefighters initially fought the fire defensively to keep it from spreading. After dawn Monday, they were able to move foam trucks in to coat the solvents, which kept vapors from escaping from the solvents and igniting.

Emergency fire and police radio traffic indicated that shock waves took down nearby trees 4 to 6 inches in diameter.

CAM Manufacturing, about 200 yards from Veolia, “took part of the direct path of the explosion,” said Bill Covell, West Carrollton’s development director. No workers were in the facility, which produces aerospace parts.

An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spill report indicates that a “hazardous waste tank farm” at Veolia was discovered on fire shortly after midnight Monday.

Heather Lauer, Ohio EPA spokeswoman, said the facility takes hazardous waste — often industrial solvents — from industrial users or body shops and cleans out the material’s “impurities” before packaging and reselling it. The facility also stores hazardous waste before sending it off in bulk amounts, she said.

Matt Lindsay, of the Montgomery and Greene County Local Emergency Response Council, said Veolia reported “well over 40 chemicals” on its latest annual chemical inventory.

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Downtown Dayton always smells bad, I doubt this made much of a contribution to the stench.

Matt
5:18 PM, 5/5/2009

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I live in West Alexandria. My spouse was taking the trash out around Midnight and the garage door started rattling, making them think that someone was breaking in. Downtown Dayton smelled bad the morning after.

novoice
10:02 AM, 5/5/2009

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Hey Lisa Frye, be thankful that plant isn't in your backyard!!!
And Monroe and Middletown residents thought it was bad to have a new coke plant!
Geez!

ridingharley
8:02 AM, 5/5/2009

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Who are they trying to Kid? They are pulling the same thing the EPA pulled after 911. Just more EPA type BS. Too expensive to clean up so just lie about it.

Virgilk
11:02 PM, 5/4/2009

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I should amend what I said - I'm glad no one was killed. Obviously people were hurt.

Pharrell
10:32 PM, 5/4/2009

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