Published: Monday, January 15, 2007
Chemical spill reported at paper plant
EVERETT - A chemical leak at Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s Everett factory required part of the plant to be shut down for about three hours Sunday afternoon.
The Everett Fire Department's hazardous materials team was dispatched about 11 a.m. after workers discovered a mixture of sulfur dioxide, ammonium bisulfate and water leaking onto the ground, said Everett fire marshal Glen Martinsen.
No injuries were reported.
Martinsen said the chemicals spilled in an area where people aren't usually present.
After arriving on scene and reviewing plans of the facility, two Everett firefighters in full chemical suits and respiratory equipment entered the building to close a valve where the chemicals were leaking.
Martinsen said it wasn't clear what was causing the leak.
After their suits were cleaned of chemicals and their oxygen tanks replaced, the firefighters entered the building a second time, accompanied by a Kimberly-Clark hazardous materials technician, who made sure the right valve was closed.
Hazmat teams from Marysville and Arlington also responded, but were not used.
The spilled materials flowed into Kimberly-Clark's wastewater treatment system, which is designed to handle the chemicals, Martinsen said. How much spilled was not immediately determined, but it was in a small enough quantity and diluted enough with water not to become a major concern, he said.
"Even though it is a hazardous substance, there wasn't much of anything going into the air," Martinsen said.
The Everett Fire Department's hazardous materials team was dispatched about 11 a.m. after workers discovered a mixture of sulfur dioxide, ammonium bisulfate and water leaking onto the ground, said Everett fire marshal Glen Martinsen.
No injuries were reported.
Martinsen said the chemicals spilled in an area where people aren't usually present.
After arriving on scene and reviewing plans of the facility, two Everett firefighters in full chemical suits and respiratory equipment entered the building to close a valve where the chemicals were leaking.
Martinsen said it wasn't clear what was causing the leak.
After their suits were cleaned of chemicals and their oxygen tanks replaced, the firefighters entered the building a second time, accompanied by a Kimberly-Clark hazardous materials technician, who made sure the right valve was closed.
Hazmat teams from Marysville and Arlington also responded, but were not used.
The spilled materials flowed into Kimberly-Clark's wastewater treatment system, which is designed to handle the chemicals, Martinsen said. How much spilled was not immediately determined, but it was in a small enough quantity and diluted enough with water not to become a major concern, he said.
"Even though it is a hazardous substance, there wasn't much of anything going into the air," Martinsen said.
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