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News Release 599
DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONDER ASSISTS IN CALCIUM CHLORIDE RELEASE IN JOPLIN
Volume 35-599 |
Contact: Larry Archer |
(For immediate release) |
573-751-3807 |
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 28, 2007 – An estimated 6,000 gallons of calcium chloride was released overnight Thursday from a Missouri Department of Transportation facility in Joplin, prompting the deployment of emergency environmental response personnel from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Emergency Response section was contacted 10:25 a.m. by MODOT officials in Joplin concerning the release of an estimated 6,000 gallons of calcium chloride from a tank at their facility at 3901 E. 32nd St. A malfunctioning valve in a 10,000-gallon storage tank is blamed for the release.
An estimated 1,200 gallons were recovered in the facility’s secondary containment area, while at least 4,000 gallons of the chemical escaped to the facility’s parking lot and surrounding area. Calcium chloride is typically mixed with salt or sand and applied to roadways during periods of snow and ice.
The Department of Natural Resources dispatched state on-scene coordinators from the department’s Southwest Regional Office in Springfield to the site of the release. MODOT has completed recovery of the 1,200 gallons that did not escape the containment system. The rest remained on the facility’s parking lot or soaked into the ground nearby. The chemical on the parking lot was being soaked up with sand and stored for use on roadways during the next snow or ice storm.
The Missouri Department of Conservation has also been contacted because of the potential threat of a fish kill in a nearby creek that may be impacted from the spill. Initial tests of the water in the stream did not indicate that the chemical affected the water. Rain in Joplin today may have diluted any impact the chemical would have on the stream. As a precaution, MODOT will flush the creek with 15,000 gallons of water to further dilute any remaining chemical.
The Environmental Emergency Response section is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact. The department’s 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually.
To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact the spill line at 573-634-2436. For more information, contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.
For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.
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