#DEEP #SOUTHINGTON #QUINNIPIACRIVER
Following the release of a toxic chemical substance Wednesday from a plant near the Quinnipiac River in Southington, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said Aug. 25 people should not eat fish taken from a stretch of the river in that town until results from water quality tests are available to assess the impact.
Regulations governing fishing designate the Quinnipiac River, as it flows through Southington, as a Wild Trout Management Area where any trout caught by anglers must be released. It is possible, however, to catch other species of fish in those waters, which anglers are allowed to take.
“We recommend that people not eat any fish taken from the Quinnipiac between West Queen Street and downstream to Route 10 – South Main Street – in Southington until we have an opportunity to determine the extent of any lingering contamination in the river resulting from a chemical release yesterday,” said DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen. The Rte. 10 – South Main Street – portion of the river is downstream from where the Eight Mile River flows into the Quinnipiac and adds a significant volume of new water to it.
Late Wednesday morning, Aug. 24, a release of hexavalent chromium was reported at Light Metals Coloring at 270 Spring St. in Southington. The release is estimated at about 300 gallons.
DEEP is advising the public to stay away from the banks of the Quinnipiac River in this immediate area, because of the potential for contact with hexavalent chromium in the soils there. Hexavalent chromium is linked to long term adverse health impacts – and skin irritations can be an immediate effect of contact with it.
Hexavalent chromium is a salt-like substance that is mixed with liquids as part of the manufacturing process at Light Metals. A malfunction in the system there led to liquid containing the chemical being released through roof vents. It then drained off the roof and through roof drains onto a road surface, a driveway, and soils – and also into a catch basin system that carried some of it out to the nearby Quinnipiac River.
DEEP Emergency Response personnel responded to the scene and remained there to supervise cleanup efforts of an environmental cleanup contractor hired by the company. Road and driveway surfaces as well as soils that were potentially exposed to the hexavalent chromium were being excavated and taken away for proper disposal.
The storm drain system is also being cleaned and inspected to make certain waters flowing through it do not carry more of the chemical into the Quinnipiac River. Sampling to help determine potentially contaminated areas is also being conducted in the waters of the Quinnipiac and along its shores.
DEEP says the town of Southington has stopped using water from two wells that are part of its public drinking water system until tests results verify they are unaffected by the release. One of the wells is about 1.5 miles from the release area and the other is about five miles away, but this action was taken as a precaution to make certain the water quality from them was not impacted by the release.
