Chemical spill at pain plant attracts emerency crews
CONNELLSVILLE – A chemical spill Wednesday on the city’s West Side attracted the attention of police, firefighters and HAZMAT crews but had no residual effects on residents, company workers or the environment, according to emergency personnel at the scene. Connellsville police, Fayette County HAZMAT and city and New Haven Hose Volunteer Fire Co. firefighters were called to the Bradley Paint Co. plant on West Crawford Avenue and Fourth Street around 10 a.m. after a lidded container filled with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) toppled from a tow motor.
Connellsville police Cpl. John Gallagher said approximately 135 gallons of the chemical spilled from the 235-gallon container into a lot between the company’s two buildings shortly after it was delivered to the site.
“It’s highly flammable and a respiratory hazard, but it evaporates very quickly,” said Gallagher as other officers restricted entrance onto the property.
Tow motor operator Todd Bell, 41, was transporting the chemical down a ramp when it fell to the ground, knocking the lid from the metal container. Bell was not injured.
Gallagher said residents living next to the plant were not evacuated due to the quick dispersion of the chemical.
Some of the liquid entered the city’s storm sewer system but was not determined to be a hazard to the Youghiogheny River or the city sewage treatment plant.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MEK is added to paints, paint removers or adhesives and evaporates when exposed to air. It dissolves when mixed with water.
Neither Bradley Paint plant manager William Handel nor city Fire Chief Joe Childs was available for comment Wednesday.