Springfield city leaders are waiting for water sampling lab results after an industrial chemical spill on Wednesday night.
The spill occurred at Parker Trutec’s plant at the Prime Ohio II Industrial Park. The company reports 1,400 gallons of water blended with potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide were released into the surrounding environment because of an equipment malfunction.
The Clark County Emergency Management Agency, Springfield Fire/Rescue Division and other agencies responded. The plant was evacuated and the leak was contained prior to their arrival, according to Springfield firefighters.
Parker Trutec is grateful for the help of local first responders to help contain the spill, company representative Shannon Ricciardo said.
“First and foremost, on behalf of Parker Trutec, we do apologize for this event, the disruption it’s caused the community and the resources it ties up,” Ricciardo said.
Preliminary monitoring of air and surface water shows cyanide levels as non-detectable, according to the city. They are testing water samples captured nearby, and are awaiting the lab results.
But so far, Clark County Health Commissioner Chris Cook said the level of contamination doesn’t appear to be concerning.
“But with any chemical exposure, our hazmat folks will tell you that you want to make sure if you see anything unusual, whether they're breathing issues, neurological issues, things like headache, have a conversation with the health department or your health care provider,” Cook said.
Some of the material entered the city’s sanitary sewer system.
“We drink this water, too, and want to ensure that we have a safe water system, not only in the city system, but as well as the aquifer and anyone in this area with wells as well,” Springfield Fire Chief Jacob King said.
There’s no evidence of chemical contaminants having reached its wastewater treatment plant as of Thursday morning, the city said. But the sanitation department will continue to monitor its facility. People are still responding to work in the area.
The company will complete an investigation to determine the root cause, but Ricciardo said it will wait until it's complete before sharing more details.
“We do have a sense of what happened and how to prevent that in the future,” he said.
The Ohio EPA also responded to the reported spill and is coordinating environmental clean-up.
