About 100 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into a nearby drain sewer at the Sherwin-Williams Breen Technology Center, 601 Canal Road, Cleveland early Monday morning, the company confirmed in a statement. The Ohio EPA said there is no impact to drinking water, and the company has been issued a notice of violation.
According to the Cleveland Division of Fire, after the fuel spilled into the drain sewer, it flowed into the Cuyahoga River.
"Fortunately, the river is iced up at this time. It's flowing a little slower than it would be in the summer, so we had a couple of things that were working for us. But, it was also difficult to get out on the river; we had to work from the shoreline," said Cleveland Fire's Lt. Mike Norman.
Upon discovering the spill, Sherwin-Williams alerted the Cleveland Fire Department, the Ohio EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard, the company said in a statement.
Sherwin-Williams also contacted a third-party hazardous materials remediation company, HEPACO, to assist with the cleanup. HEPACO is actively containing the fuel spill, and Sherwin-Williams expects to have about 90% of the cleanup completed by Monday.
The Ohio EPA said there is no evidence of sheen on the river near the spill, and containment booms were placed at the outfall of the sewer to collect any residual diesel fuel.
"I guess I would characterize this as something that should be avoided, but not a huge impact to our community's health," said Kurt Rhoades, Associate Professor Case Western Reserve University.
"Containment materials will remain in the river until all recoverable diesel fuel is collected," Sherwin-Williams said in a statement. "The Company continues to investigate the cause of the spill and is prepared to take corrective action to fix or replace the permanent generator."
On Tuesday, the Ohio EPA issued the following statement:
Ohio EPA is working to provide technical assistance on this ongoing matter. Our main priority is to make sure the spill and any associated environmental impact is cleaned up and dealt with. First and foremost, Ohio EPA can confirm there is no impact to the area’s drinking water.
Ohio EPA’s Division of Emergency Response was notified by an environmental specialist at Sherwin Williams that a backup generator had an equipment failure and spilled approximately 100 gallons of diesel fuel into a storm drain, and ultimately into the Cuyahoga River. Sherwin Williams hired an environmental contractor to recover the remaining diesel fuel in the storm sewer line by flushing and vacuum truck recovery. Any diesel fuel that made its way into the river was quickly dispersed by the current. There has been no evidence of sheen in the river near the spill, and containment booms were placed at the outfall of the storm sewer to collect any residual diesel fuel.
The company also met with the United States Coast Guard and the Cleveland Fire Dept. regarding the situation. Sherwin Williams has been issued a Notice of Violation for releasing diesel to waters of the state.
