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Whitley Fire and Petroleum Spill
Whitley Fire and Petroleum Spill
(Information on this site is considered to be accurate at the time of posting, but is subject to change as new information becomes available.)
Photo taken by Rebecca Post, Department of Ecology
Friday, 7/27/2007 1:00 pm
Joint Information Center for Whitley Fuel Fire and Petroleum Spill Standing Down
Correction: Press release #4 reported that a wastewater retention pond at the Whitley Fuel site had to be excavated. It was actually cleaned with a vacuum truck. The retention pond will be covered if rain is predicted.
For information about specific issues, please call:
- Spokane Regional Health District: Cathy Cochrane, 509-324-1689
- City of Spokane: Marlene Feist, 509-625-6740
- City of Spokane Fire Department: Brian Schaeffer, 509-625-7002
- Department of Ecology: Jani Gilbert, 509-990-9177
Whitley Fuel Site
- A cleanup plan for the site has been developed and approved.
- Crews will be removing debris at the site today and through the weekend.
- The Department of Ecology and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will monitor cleanup activities at the site.
Human exposure and health issues
- People living in the vicinity of the Whitley Fuel fire are asked to move their vehicles if there are petroleum stains around the curbs in their area to allow city street maintenance crews to clean up residual runoff.
- The current risk to public health from petroleum and cleanup products at the site of the Whitley Fuels fire appears to be low. The Spokane Regional Health District is still monitoring conditions.
- The current risk to public health from petroleum and cleanup products entering the city’s stormwater system and the Spokane River also appears to be low.
- The regional health district recommends that people avoid the area around the stormwater outfall at T.J. Meenach Bridge until further notice.
Stormwater drain cleanup
- The city of Spokane Wastewater Management Department has found what appear to be small amounts of oil residue during “hydro-cleaning” of the stormwater system.
- The amount, concentration and type of petroleum found in the storm drains are under investigation.
- The wastewater management department continues to request that residents help protect the Spokane River by avoiding major water use, such as power-washing equipment, washing cars in their yards, and excessive watering – particularly if the water will flow into storm drains in the area of Mission Avenue to Francis Avenue in North Spokane.
Spokane River activities
- No recoverable oil has been found in the Spokane River. However, water samples were taken at several locations yesterday.
- Lab tests are being conducted to determine whether or not any petroleum was present in the samples as well as possible concentration levels.
Thursday, 7/26/2007 4:00 pm
Activities
Whitley Fuel site
-
Crews are continuing to monitor
potential runoff from the Whitley Fuel site.
-
Petroleum products in a grassy swale
near the Whitley Fuel site were excavated to protect a
nearby city drinking-water well. The swale will be covered
today to avoid future precipitation from pushing any
remaining contamination down to the groundwater.
-
The environmental status of the swale
will continue to be monitored.
-
The Spokane City Water Department also
has developed an aggressive testing program at nearby wells
to monitor for ground water contamination to assure the
city’s water supply meets all drinking water standards.
Human exposure and health issues
-
Spokane Regional Health District is
evaluating the public health risk that might be present due
to petroleum and cleanup products in the environment
following the Whitley Fuel fire and the ensuing response on
Monday evening.
-
People should avoid exposure to
breathing petroleum vapors and any contact with oily
residues associated with this incident.
-
The current risk to public health from
petroleum and cleanup products at the site of the Whitley
Fuels fire appears to be low. We are continuing to monitor
the situation.
-
The current risk to public health from
petroleum and cleanup products entering the city’s
stormwater system and the Spokane River appears to be low;
however, we are still investigating the situation.
-
Spokane Regional Health District
recommends that people avoid swimming, fishing or other
water recreation in the lower portion of the Spokane River,
below the outfall, until further notice.
-
People living in the vicinity of the
Whitley Fuel fire are asked to move their vehicles to allow
the city street maintenance crews to clean up residual
runoff along the streets and curbs.
Stormwater drain cleanup
-
The City of Spokane Wastewater
Management Department is in the second day of a week-long
process of “hydro-cleaning” the stormwater system. This
means that large vacuums will clean the water out of the
pipes and a de-greasing agent will be used to wash the pipe.
-
So far the city has cleaned the storm
drain from Pittsburg Street and North Foothills Drive – the
site of Monday’s fire – to approximately Hogan Street and
Jackson Avenue.
-
According to city wastewater officials,
no oil was visible in the pipes being cleaned, however, test
results will affirm or not if oil was present and at what
concentrations.
-
Citizens can help protect the Spokane
River by avoiding major water use, such as power-washing
equipment, washing cars in their yards, excessive watering –
any kind of water use that can flow to storm drains in the
area of Mission Avenue to Francis Avenue in North Spokane.
Outfall near T.J. Meenach Bridge
Spokane River activities
-
Crews have one Department of Fish and
Wildlife boat out on the river and are currently conducting
a survey to determine if there is any petroleum
contamination along the river shoreline.
-
During a second helicopter over-flight
conducted yesterday, Ecology and private cleanup contractors
observed what appeared to be patches of oily “sheen” in
several areas in the river near the Nine Mile Dam.
-
Crews are taking samples to
characterize the substances seen from the air and determine
if any contain petroleum and can be recovered.
Wednesday, 7/25/2007 4:30 pm
Activities
A second
helicopter fly-over was conducted earlier this afternoon.
Department of Ecology and clean-up contractors hired by Whitley
Fuel saw what appeared to be an oily “sheen” in:
-
A wetland upstream of Nine Mile Dam on
the Spokane River.
-
A similar sheen was spotted in a second
wetland near the Spokane House boat launch.
-
Sheen also was visible from the air on
the river in several other areas – some of which appeared to
be heavy in density and other patches that appeared to be
lighter. The heaviest patches were observed near the Nine
Mile Dam.
-
Sheen was also visible on the
downstream side of Nine Mile Dam.
-
One ribbon of sheen was approximately
three yards wide and ran discontinuously from Plese Flats
Park to Seven Mile Bridge.
Whether or not
the sheen contains petroleum is currently under investigation.
The substance that was observed may contain organic materials
such as leaves and twigs. Crews from the state departments of
Ecology and Department of Fish and Wildlife are evaluating the
sheen pockets to determine if they contain petroleum products
and if it can be recovered from the water. If so, the next step
will be determining cleanup options.
A possible
reason that the sheen was not visible yesterday was that the
windy weather made it difficult. Another possibility was that
the 360 gallons of fire-fighting foam (a surfactant) that was
used on the fire Monday night, is starting to biodegrade,
allowing oil and other petroleum products to surface.
Wednesday, 7/25/2007 12:30 pm
While the fire danger is over, the Spokane
Fire Department is on-scene to monitor. An investigation into
the cause of the fire continues today. Barrier tape has been
placed around the area at the stormwater outfall at T.J. Meenach
Bridge to prevent citizens from coming into contact with
petroleum products in case more of it is flushed to the outfall
and into the Spokane River. Security personnel will be at the
Whitley Oil site to ensure no one interferes with the
investigation, and to ensure no one is injured in the debris.
Today’s activities/priorities:
-
Crews will continue to monitor any
runoff from the Whitley Oil site. The city will begin today
a seven-day process of “hydro-cleaning” the stormwater
system. This means that large vacuums will clean the water
out of the pipes and a de-greasing agent will be used to
wash the pipe. Plugs have been placed in the system to
prevent any further contamination of the river.
-
In case petroleum products do get
through to the Spokane River, absorbent “boom” (long,
absorbent pads) and oil containment boom have been placed at
the outfall near the T.J. Meenach Bridge to catch oil and
any other products. This contain the petroleum products so
they can be cleaned up and avoid flowing down the river.
Today that boom will be reinforced by additional material.
-
A second over-flight by helicopter will
be conducted today in order to scan the river for patches of
oily “sheen” (which are generally only molecules thick and
mostly impossible to recover) or for “pockets” of petroleum
products along the shoreline between T.J. Meenach Bridge and
Nine Mile Dam. The over-flight is scheduled for noon.
Avista is monitoring for petroleum products at Nine-Mile
Dam.
-
Ecology will continue to assess
environmental damage and try to determine how much petroleum
product was lost as a result of Monday’s fire.
-
A disposal plan for the contaminated
water and oily waste will be developed today. Debris, as it
is examined and cleaned up, will go to the Waste-to-Energy
Plant.
-
Petroleum products in a grassy swale
near the Whitley Oil site have been excavated to protect a
nearby city drinking-water well. The environmental status
of the swale will continue to be monitored. The swale will
be covered to avoid future precipitation
