Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHAZMAT 1985 (1)1 t1 \ TO\)flN OF YARMOU-fII SOUTH YARI\'OUTH MASSACHUSETTS 02654 BOARD OF HEALTH INVESTIGATION REPORT: Fuel Oil Leakage & Contamination COMMONWEALTH ELECTRIC CO. 484 Willow Street Yarmouth Port, MA INVEST]GATED BY: David Dumas, Assistant Health Agen 08128 85 l2: l5 P.M.: 12-.45 P -M.: September II, 1985 ---;)I t. D,' While on routine joint inspections with Fire and Building Departments, call is received on Fire Department radio of oil spill at Com/Electric Company site. Depur,v Fire Chief William Greene orders notification of Water Department and Town of Yarmouth Oil Spill Coordinator Morris Johnson, Assistant Health Agent David Dumas arrives at Com/Eiectricsite. Already present are: Paul Wilson, Rick Crowley and Ralph Kimball of the Yarmouth Water Department; Deputy Fire Chief Greene, and Morris Johnson. The problem tank is an underground 10,000 gallon storage tank, formeriy holding #2 fuel oil for use within the companyrs boilers. This tank was taken out of service, approximately 1981 when the boilers were converted to natural gas use. However, the company did not remove the tank from the ground within six months, as required by State Fire Regulations. As fill was removed from around the tank [over 15 yards of fill was removed in all], it was observed that the tank was in the water table approximately 2 feet. The original spill occurred on lvlonday, August 26, 1985, when heavy rainfall forced residual fuel oil, in the tank, up to the top of the ground and into the boiler room building through the uncapped supply pipe. At the time of the spill, the company notified D.E.Q.E. directly and engaged the ciean-up firm of Clean Harbors, lnc', of Kingston, MA' Com/Eiectric did not notify the town, believing that it was not necessary. On Monday, August 26th, Clean Harbors cleaned up the approximately 40-50 gallons of oil spiued, - bo-th outside and inside'ihe building, and prepared to remove the faulty underground tank. On Wedneiday, August 28th, the town became aware of the situation when Clean Harbors applied for a Tank Removal Permit from the Fire Department. 2:00 P.M-:Removal of the tank was hindered by its proximity to a water ,rin u"a cars within the adjoining parking lot' During removal .,..o.aures, Paul Wilson and iavid -Dumas discussed with Richard "p""."#o ,i'ngOE the need to install monitoring wells at the site' c{ Page Z. 08l29 /85 2:30 P.M 3:00 P.M-: Clean-out covers overflowing sePtic entire system. The soil removal from rhe area around the tank had a noticable odor of oil; the spill occurring less than 2000 feet from the public water supply wells. lt was requested, by Paul Wilson and David Dumas, that the DEQE order all removed soil to be taken from the site and transported to an approved landfill for treatment of oil-contaminated soil. After some discussion, DEQE agreed to do so, and also to equire that monitoring wells be installed to determine if any plume of contamination exist6. Environmental Engineer for Com/Electric, Stephen Wood, concured with this requirement and agreed that the company would, in addition to paying immediate clean-up costs, pay for the installation of 2 monitoring wells and the first round of sampling. The tank was removed from the ground and it appeared to be asphalt-coated on the lowest 90 degree portion of the surface. A closer inspection of the tank, for signs of leakage, was conducted when the tank was rolled onto its side. It was observed that the tank was constructed of heavy duty steel, with an asphalt-coating on lower portion, and that there were no holes in the tank, being substantially intact. Clean Harbors' vacuum truck removed the water from the bole beneath the tank. Some oil sheen was present on the top of the groundwater (about 8-I0 feet from grade). The 8 inch water main adjoining the removed tank was not damaged by the removal process. Clean Harbors continued to clean the hole to remove any remaining pollution. All contaminated soil was to be stored on sire, covered by polyethylene sheeting, until removal by Clean Harbors. Only clean fill will be used to back-fill the hole left by the removed tank. Water Department Superintendent Paul Wilson contacted David Dumas, requiring his presence at the Com/Electric site due to a problem there. Also present, at the site, was Ralph Kimball and Rick Crowley. David Dumas arrived at the site and was informed by Paul Wilson that the septic system was overflowing; also, that A&B Cesspool Service was en route to pumP the system. Concern was expressed as to the possibility of oil within the septic system, inthat a sump pump, in the floor of the boiler room, apparently leads into the septic system. The area around the sump pump, and the line connected to the system, were cleaned by Clean Harbors on Monday, August 26th; however, there was a possibility that some oil might appear in the septic system' A&B Cesspool Service arrived to pump the septic system' As the ievel of the septic tank began to drop, some oil flowed into the first of the two septic tanks. A&B was ordered to stop pumping' At this point, Health Agent Bruce Murphy was called and asked to come to the site. were located uP from the sePtic system apparentiy had backed oil tank - the throughout A&B trucks retulned to dump loads at the to Com/Electric site after being refused Yarmouth Sanitary Landfill due to the oil4:00 P.M.: 3:00 P.M.: Page 3. \ 5:30 P.M 08l30l85 9:30 A.M.: contamination of the septage. Upon arrival at the site, the septage loads were returned to the septic tanks where Clean Harbors were vacuuming the oil from the top of the tank with a separate nozzle. The septic trucks were then flushed with soap and water and clean loads were then pumped from the bottom of the septic tank while Clean Harbors continued to remove oil from the top. The septic trucks were checked for absence of oil prior to going to the landfill. Approximately 5500 ga ons of septage was removed in this manner, bringing the tank level down to below the two-thirds level' Clean Harbors agreed to lemove as much oil as possible from the top of the septic tank before the end of the day, Flushing of all septic lines, to remove oil, and the opening of the leaching field, to check for oil contamination, is to be performed on Friday morning, August 30th. Stephen Wood is to be present at that time with septic plans for all buildings located on the property. The DEQE office was then called to ensure that Richard Packard, their representative (in this case), would be present on August 30th. DEQE responded that he would be at the site on August 30rh. David Dumas arrived at site and met with Paul Wilson, Rick Crowley and Ralph Kimball; Frank Knippenberg and Stephen Wood oF Com/Electric, and Harry Anderson of Clean Harbors, lnc., to continue clean-up of the septic system. As a first step, the septic lines from the office building, garage and maintenance building were flushed with water until clean and free of oil. Clean Harbors, again, vacuumed oil residue from water at top of septic tank. Next, tbe leaching field was checked for signs of contamination. Effluent from the septic tank was pumped up to the leaching field through a Pump chamber; however, the pump did not appear to be working at that time. According to information on the plan, the leaching field was opened near its end, in two places, and it was then dug by hand from top to bottom. No evidence of any oil contamination was found within the leaching field; in fact, almost no organic build-up was observed within the leaching area, at all, leading to the conclusion that the pump had never operated properly from the time of the system's installation in 1974. David bumas ordered the pump to be repaired, to render the leaching field operable once the septic tank was once again free and clear of oil. Clean Harbors was to check periodically when the firm is on-site to clean any seepage of oil from the walls of the septic tank. A&B Cesspool Service was advised to Pump septage from the bottom of t'he tank and to check the loads for cleanliness and/or oity odors prior to transPorting it to the landfill' Also' once the ieptic tanX is clean, to DEQE's satisfaction' the pump .t.rnu... arl to be made functional for proper operation of the septic system. At the request of Paul Wilson, excavation was made at an isolated "t;"";-, ';;;f com/Electric property' This area' the site of a i.r-"r "ru.,"tion transformet, *"t reportedly a dumping site' 12:00 NOON: Page 4 oel09 /a5: 09lt9l85: 091t8/85:. in the past, for transformer oils which possibly included PcB-laden oils. The test hole was witnessed by David Dumas, Ralph Kimball, Rick Crowley and Paul Wilson. No traces of oil nor organic wastes were observed, to a dePth of approximately 8 feet. A review of Health Department septage pumping records, received from the landfill, ind:cated that, during the month of August, 1985, a total of 15,000 ga ons of septage had been pumped from Com/Electric Company: 1816185 - 7500 gallons & 8/30/85 - 7500 gallons]. Three monitoring wells installed in vicinity of oil spill area by CARR-DEE Corporation of Medford, MA. inslallation was supervised by Richard Packard of DEQE, and Stephen Wood of Com/Electric. Also on site were David Dumas and Harry Anderson of Clean Harbors, lnc. No odor of oil was immediately detectable; however, the wells are to be allowed to stabilize and will then be sampled for total organics. Notice of hearing mailed to Com/Electric, along with request for a report of the company's response to the incident. Memo sent to Water Superintendent Paul Wilson and Fire Chief David Akin soliciting their comments regarding the hearing.92120/_9s, COMflectric Commonwealth El€clric Company 2421 Cranberry Hrghway Wareharn Massachuse s 02571 Telephone (617) 291-0950 october 1, 198 5 Town of Yarmouth Board of Health 1146 Route 28 South Yarmouth, MA 02664 Attention: I4r. David Dunas Gentlemen r The follotring information is being Provided to your office as requested in your correspondence dated sePtenber I8, 1985, relative to the No. 2 I'ue1 Oil Release at our willow street facility' As I indicated j-n my response of septenber 18, 1985, it remains comnonwealth Electric Conpany's intention to work with the Town of Yarmouth and the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering toward the productive resolution of aLI concerns. Attached for your infonnation is a copy of the chronology of Events. inalicating actions taken by Commonwealth Electric in response to this incident. Additionally, four specific items were listed to be addressed, these are discussed below r ]Duri-ng a heav:t rainstorm on the morning of August 26, 1985, oi1 was noticed in a sunP area within the boiler room building. There was no evidence of oil on the surface of the road outside the boiler room; however ' a check of the manhole above the feed pipe elbow in the road showed some oil. It apPeared that the oi1 had flolred from the maahole a-bove the underground tank ' through a concrete trench containing the feed pipes into the boiler room sumP' The Town was not notified .i-at:-" time because the oil was contained within the =*,n, -it"..t,, and manhole area and did not meet the i"titUy accePted alefinition of a spill' InordertoestablishuniforoProceduresfornotification..rii"ii".= must be estabrishe'l' The crassic tlefhition ;;-;;;ii i"=.tll"" the discharse of a material onto ;;"-#;; o.-t .a.t surface' co@onweal'th Electric has ".iiii.J the gotrd of ttearth in the Past vlhen incidents i"".-.J"it.a that fit these criteria' An exanPle of Town of Yarmouth October 1, I98 5 this is a downed or leaking transformer. We do not believe that the situation as it existed on August 26, 1985, met this definition of a "spill." DEQE was notified because it is our policy to do so any time oil is found ina location h,here it is not expected., in addition to spill situations, regardless of guantity. The Town was notified when the decision was made to removethe tank in order that representatives could be present in the event contamination was found during excavation. The pumps have been examj-ned and found to be in good workingorder. Readjustment of the floats was necessary and has beenaccomplished. A partial. bl.ockage was discovered in the line between the septic tanks and the punp chanber. This should be corrected by week's end, thus restoring normal operation. The underground tank had not been unused for four years asstated. The tank, which was relined in April, 1981, remai.nedin service to store auxiliary fuel. Boilers at wiLlow Street have dual fuel capalility and normally burn natural gas on an interruptible basis. No. 2 Oil was stored as a backup in the event gas were unavailable. This tank was scheduled to be retired i-n 1986 because of new RCRA amendments' requirements and had been disconnected in Late June, 1985 in preparation for removal which would be undertaken not only at willovr Street, but also at several other Corunonwealth Electric facilities. Mr. Dumas witnessed the installation of three moni.toring wells in the vicinity of the underground tank on septenrber 19, 1985. Samples for analysis were collected on Septenber 26, 1985. A decision has not been made, at this point, concerning the well at the northeast corner of the property. I trust that this information has cleared up any misconcePtions or mj-sunderstandings that may have existed concerning the wi1low street incident. We will continue to lrork cooPeratively with the Tonn and keep you informed as rre Proceed to a final' lesolution. please feel free to contact me should you have any further questj'ons ' Very truly Yours, 2 2 3 4 SW: aP Attachment cci See attached Distri:bution List ' /$2.--2"q/ stephen wooal Environmental E:nqineer Tbwn of Yarmouth Distribution List October 1, 1985 J. V A. S ti. R R. P R. J J. R P. A DonovanGriffiths Smith White l.lorri son Farnhan Morrow - 3- 8 /28 /8s O11 notlced 1n the suEp area ulthin the bol1er roon. SuEp dlaconnectedto prevent the pu&pl.ng of o11 to the leachlng f1eld. Check of the suoparea appears to lndicste the puEp d1d not actlvate. C1e8n Barbor8 c8lledto reEove o11 fron the BuEp area. Check nanhole 1tr the road rhlch wasf1l1ed rrlth rrater and eooe o11. Puup nanhole out. clean Earborg eatlEaces 35 - 50 gallons of o11 reaoved 1o these tpo operatloDr. Source ia appar-ently dlsconnected Buctlon plplng elbowa u1thln the oauhole. Eeavy ralnentered the tank and dleplaced the o11 out through thesc clbora rtlchrere open to atEosphere.. O1l. floved lnto the uanhole aod aloag fcedplplng lnto the eunp. Reoove reoalulng o11 fron the taak, Approri-aatel.y2.51 of uater on bortoD of the tank. 6050 gallons of lz oll ieooved andapproxl-uately 4000 gallona of oll/ueter Llxture. ffottfy DEQE aa perCoupany pollcy. DEQE feelB probleu Elnor end under cootrol. ,tak- to U"kept appraised of the sltuatlon. Clean Earbors on slte to perfom flnal cleanlng and lnternal lnspectlonof the 10,000 gallon tank. Tank ootr coupletely eqty end Ln apparent good Btructural condltlon. As tank ls scheduled to be retlred ln 1985 because of record keeplng requireEents under neu RCRA aoendEents, declslon le aade to reEove the tank norr. IJ1Ll notlfy DEQE and Tol'n toDorrol, ln the eveDt they uant to be present. Tank to be remved. Clean Earbors notifles DEQE ald loEu. Rlchard Packard of DEQE on alte along rrlth YarDuth Aasl5lant Bealth ASeot Dave Dulas, Ilater Departoent Superlntendent Paul I{11son, Deputy Ir're Orlef Greene, and other Yarrcuth officlals, tncludlng lJater Co@lssioners aod llater D'ePart- aent personnel. Excavatlon revealg cootaDlnated so1l arouud osnhole area. Tank 81tt1ng 1n ground vater, horrever, lt reDalned eqty. Ilas rellned approxlEately four (4) years a8o. Probtero vLth uater lloe close to tank oaklng reuoval dlfflcult' W111 have to renove froD the parklng lot slde' Sone o11 ln the hole after tank reEoval. Cleaned up vla vacuuu tanker' Eole left open overnlght and llttle o11 appears. Rercve v''th paddlng' DEQE aatlefied that thls hole can be back-fllled ulth clean Daterlal' Excavated Eaterlal can be replaced ln the hole 1f unconBarllnated ' other eoll to be removed to Sawyeri s ln Ualne. DEQE reguest8 that efter hole ls fllled, @re excavatlon bL done ln the area toeard the bulldlng ' under the f€ed plpes. Agreed ' DEQE 8atlafied tank 1n Sood atructural coodltloo strd not leahlnS ' Okay to re@ve f rou glte. CHBONOLOGY OF EVENTS I{ILLoW STREET SERVICE CENTER, yARHoUrtI, }t,2 OIL RELEASE I /26 /85 8/27 /8s CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS WILLOI{ STREET SERVICE CENTER, YARMOUTH, MA Problen encountered when excavatlng torrard the bur.ldlng. More contan-lnatlon evldent than yesterday. 011 has apparently foilowed the plptng,percolated through the eaud to the reter table. vacuuro oil rroo inlsurface. Posslbly not enough o11 to Justlfy recovery. DEQE suggestslnstall three (3) Eonlrorlng welrs 1n the viclnlty of the tank iJ """"""leakage and agrees to requests thls forually ln rrrltlng. tJlll send us anNov under ch. 21 E reflectlng thrs. proceed after thr.s infor,atlon ls 1nhand.- Septlc systeo puoped by A68 because of heavy raln fl11lng tanks tooverflowlng, llhen tevel lorered, oll ran lnto the f1r6t tajxk. CLeanHarbors renoved o11. I.Irll check toEorrow, Board of Health wants to checkleach area to detertrlne lf any oil eacaped. Page 2 Septlc tanks have only aEall aEount of oil. Flush lines to tanks torerDove any accuEulated o1l. No o11 ln last tank or 1n the pullplng chamber.Dlg several trenches ln the leachlng area. No o1l found. itl-"rIt"tt.athat no ol.1 got thls far. Apparently a snal1 aEount of o1l ln the sumpentered the draln llne and florred to the tank after the levels were droppedby punplng, Board of Health nentloned posslble neetlng g/g/g5, i.Iouldrequest ln wrltlng to Andrew Grlfflths. Water Ealn break in area of the tank. 9 /9 /8s water Dain repalred. IroLe back-f1l1ed. call car-Dee (recomended by DEQEand clean Harbors) ro drlll uell8. Norlfy Rtch packard DEQE; date ro drlll9/L9185, Verlfy rrlrh Car-Dee that 9/19/85 1s srilt okay. 9 l17 185 Notlfy R. Packard rhar Thursday, 9/79185 ar O83O ls the scheduled relLdrllllng day. Notlfy D. Duaas of the Board of Health on the date. He wiltnotr.fy P. I.lllson. He ls alao sendlng a letter requestlng us to Deet with BOE on 10/7/85 regardlng rhe tank incldent, Also reguested a Chronologyof Events. Car-Dee on slte. R. Packard, D. Dutlan, Il. DavldBon present. fhree welledrllled and punped to obtaln clear rrater. Sanpllng to proceed as follows; check No. 1 well for free oLI. If no free ol1, then eauple all three for 8129/85 8130/85 8/ 3t/85 9lt9 /85 CHRONOLOGY OF EVET{TS IJILLOW STREET SERVICE CENTER, YARHOUTH, MA 9/19/85 Cont lnued: total volltlle organlcs. AIso deEermlne ground uater elevatlons byestabllshlng elevation of the well caslng as the datu,. subDlt t; DEQEas a package. clean Harbors Bralntree, wllr provlde a chemlst to do thesanpllng and anaylsls. Page 3 Receive letter frotr Board of Health on lncldent. 9/20185