[Pollution.notice] Escambia / Possible Chemical Release / DEM-Lawhon

[Pollution.Notice]

As of December 30, 2016, an Administrative Law Judge invalidated a proposed pollution notification rule promulgated by the Department, which required owners of installations throughout the State of Florida report pollution events to the local government as well as a local media outlet to notify the general public of the event. Protecting Florida’s pristine environment is our top priority and DEP will continue the public pollution notification process to ensure all Floridians and visitors are notified of pollution incidents. Moving forward the notification process from the Department may change, however it was imperative that the notification to the public continued seamlessly. The incident below was reported to the State Watch Office and is being forwarded to you because the event has occurred in your area. For more information or should you have any questions, please contact Lauren Engel at Lauren.Engel at dep.state.fl.us

Florida Division of Emergency Management
State Watch Office Incident Report
Attachments
Attachment: NRC#1171892
Update 1 - 02/25/2017-02:40 / DEM-Lawhon
Peer NRC #1171892, "CALLER IS REPORTING THE PH BEGAN TO DROP ON AN OUTFALL, LEADING FACILITY TO DISCOVER A RELEASE OF SULFURIC ACID...NONE AT THIS TIME, INCIDENT BEING INVESTIGATED. "
Main Information
Report #: 2017-1617
Status: Assigned
Reported to SWO on: 2/25/2017 02:19 ET
Severity: Local Incident
Description: Possible Chemical Release
This situation involves: Hazardous Materials
Affected Sectors: DEP District - Northwest, DEP OER Pensacola On-Call
Initial Report: Monitoring equipment at the Ascend Performance Material facility in Gonzales indicated that the PH on an outfall (storm drain system) started to drop. The drop in the PH of the water running through the outfall is an indicator of a chemical release. The outfall drains into the Escambia River. Due to the chemicals at the facility, this is probably a sulfuric acid leak. Employees started to check the tanks at the facility but could not any leaks. Therefore this appears to be an underground leak from a transfer pipe. Test samples have been sent to a lab to confirm the chemical that is being released.
Injuries: No
Fatalities (Unconfirmed by State Medical Examiner): No
Environmental impact: Yes
DEP callback requested: No
Incident Occurred: 2/25/2017 23:50 ET
Most Recent Update Date/Time: 02/25/2017-02:45 ET
Most Recent Update: Peer NRC #1171892, "CALLER IS REPORTING THE PH BEGAN TO DROP ON AN OUTFALL, LEADING FACILITY TO DISCOVER A RELEASE OF SULFURIC ACID...NONE AT THIS TIME, INCIDENT BEING INVESTIGATED. "
Affected Counties: Escambia
Facility Name or Description: Ascend Performance Material
Incident Location: Address: 3000 Old Chemstrand Road City: Gonzales
Coordinates: Lat: 30.238691, Long: -90.92073

Contact Information
Reporting Party: Name: Richard Grosse, Ascend Performance Material |Call Back Number 1: 850-968-7665 |Call Back Number 2: 850-382-1879 |Address: 3000 Old Chemstrand Road Gonzales FL, 32560
Responsible Party: Same as Reporting Party
On-Scene Contact: Same as Reporting Party
Hazardous Materials
Sub-Type: Toxic Industrial Chemical
Situation: Active, release in progress
Description: Possible Sulfuric Acid Spill
Chemical Name: Sulfuric Acid
Index Name: Sulfuric Acid
CAS Number: 7664939
Section 304 Reportable Quantity: 1,000
CERCLA Reportable Quantity: 1,000
Chemical State: Liquid
Source / Container: Unknown
Total source/container volume: Unknown
Quantity released: Unknown
Rate of release: Unknown
Released: Outside environment
Cause of release: Unknown
Time the release was discovered: 23:50 ET
Reason for late report: Unknown
Storm drains affected: Yes, drained to waterway(s) listed
Waterways affected: Yes
Name(s) of waterways: Escambia River
Major roadways closed: No
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