MARYSVILLE — Someone dumped 36 bottles of medical-grade ether in Marysville on Tuesday afternoon, prompting an emergency response.
Marysville police aren’t sure who did it, or why, Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said Wednesday. The bottles were found by a neighbor around noon Tuesday. They were behind a trash bin at the Westwood Crossing Apartments, 1350 Cedar Ave. The neighbor brought the bottles to the apartment complex office and someone called 911, Lamoureux said.
Nearby areas were evacuated until it was confirmed that the bottles weren’t leaking, he said. A hazardous-materials team from the Marysville Fire District assisted.
Ether is legal though highly flammable. It is used by meth cooks and marijuana processors, according to police.
The state Department of Ecology advised the property owner to hire a hazardous waste contractor to remove the bottles for disposal, spokesman Larry Altose said Wednesday. It was illegal for someone to dump the chemicals, which are considered hazardous waste, he said.
“The bottles contain a laboratory reagent. Ether is in the name, but it’s not ether like you’d think of, say, at an old-time dentist office,” he said. “The 36 half-liter brown glass bottles all had their original seals.”
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