USA - "It could have been a lot worse."
City water plant plans safeguards
Move follows release of chlorine gas
By John Hill
Press & Sun-Bulletin
BINGHAMTON -- A day after a truck driver accidentally caused the release of toxic chlorine gas by improperly mixing chemicals at the city's Water Filtration Plant, the city altered intake valves Tuesday to prevent a future incident.
Before getting approval from water plant employees, the truck driver pumped bleach into the wrong tank, creating a reaction that released the toxic gas, Superintendent of Water and Sewer Kevin Transue said. A city employee is supposed to sign off on the connection before any chemicals are pumped into the plant.
Handles on the three intakes at the plant were removed Tuesday and are being kept in Transue's desk, ensuring that a water plant employee will be present to check every hookup, Transue said. Locks for the valves will be purchased in the near future, the superintendent said.
The driver, an employee of New Jersey-based trucking company Liquid Cargo Inc., realized his mistake soon after he improperly pumped the base chemical sodium hypochlorite, a bleach used to disinfect drinking water, into a tank of hydrofluorosilicic acid, a fluoride used in the city's drinking water. About 80 or 90 gallons of the bleach were released into the tank, Transue said.
The mix-up released an unknown amount of pure chlorine gas into the plant and surrounding neighborhood, causing the evacuation Monday afternoon of homes on Webster Court and Tompkins, Hayes, Baldwin, Broome and Webster streets.
"Luckily, he noticed it almost immediately," Transue said. "It could have been a lot worse."
No injuries to neighbors, plant workers or emergency responders have been reported, said Leigh Ann Scheider, the city's director of community relations. The incident did not affect drinking water, officials said.
The city buys its chemicals from Rochester-based industrial organic chemical manufacturer Thatcher Company of New York, which contracts with Liquid Cargo to ship the supplies.
Liquid Cargo management could not be reached Tuesday night. Transue declined to name the driver.
Move follows release of chlorine gas
By John Hill
Press & Sun-Bulletin
BINGHAMTON -- A day after a truck driver accidentally caused the release of toxic chlorine gas by improperly mixing chemicals at the city's Water Filtration Plant, the city altered intake valves Tuesday to prevent a future incident.
Before getting approval from water plant employees, the truck driver pumped bleach into the wrong tank, creating a reaction that released the toxic gas, Superintendent of Water and Sewer Kevin Transue said. A city employee is supposed to sign off on the connection before any chemicals are pumped into the plant.
Handles on the three intakes at the plant were removed Tuesday and are being kept in Transue's desk, ensuring that a water plant employee will be present to check every hookup, Transue said. Locks for the valves will be purchased in the near future, the superintendent said.
The driver, an employee of New Jersey-based trucking company Liquid Cargo Inc., realized his mistake soon after he improperly pumped the base chemical sodium hypochlorite, a bleach used to disinfect drinking water, into a tank of hydrofluorosilicic acid, a fluoride used in the city's drinking water. About 80 or 90 gallons of the bleach were released into the tank, Transue said.
The mix-up released an unknown amount of pure chlorine gas into the plant and surrounding neighborhood, causing the evacuation Monday afternoon of homes on Webster Court and Tompkins, Hayes, Baldwin, Broome and Webster streets.
"Luckily, he noticed it almost immediately," Transue said. "It could have been a lot worse."
No injuries to neighbors, plant workers or emergency responders have been reported, said Leigh Ann Scheider, the city's director of community relations. The incident did not affect drinking water, officials said.
The city buys its chemicals from Rochester-based industrial organic chemical manufacturer Thatcher Company of New York, which contracts with Liquid Cargo to ship the supplies.
Liquid Cargo management could not be reached Tuesday night. Transue declined to name the driver.
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