Press Release - Chemical Spill at Glenn County Transfer Station

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                   

June 1, 2022

PIO contact: Amy Travis 530-934-6441 or Talia Richardson 530-934-6530

Chemical Spill at Glenn County Transfer Station

Artois, CA – A spill of an unknown chemical occurred at the Glenn County Transfer Station located on County Road 33 in Artois this morning. The spill was encountered when a residential garbage bin was offloaded from a Waste Management truck at the sorting building. An employee identified multiple liquid chemicals had combined and created some mild bubbling and off gassing. The employee immediately notified management at Glenn County Public Works who called 9-1-1 to report the spill at 9:45 a.m. Artois Fire was dispatched to the scene. Artois Fire assessed the scene and determined that the chemical was contained at the site. All staff were evacuated from the site and the site was closed. It was determined that there was no further threat to life and safety outside the facility, however, a Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Response Team would be required to identify and clean up the chemicals.  Glenn County Sheriff’s Office – Office of Emergency Services was notified of the site closure and to assist with requesting Hazardous Materials response resources. California Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) was notified of the spill and a regional Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Response Team from Sutter County was put on standby to assist if necessary.

US Ecology – NRC an environmental and industrial emergency response company located in Chico, California was contacted by Glenn County Public Works. An assessment team was deployed to the site.  The initial assessment identified muriatic acid had combined with an unknown substance to create the reaction.  Based on the initial assessment, it was determined that the US Ecology - NRC emergency response team from Dixon would be deployed to assist with the further assessment and cleanup of the spill. It was determined that the Cal-OES Regional HazMat Team was not necessary and was called off. Glenn County Air Pollution Control Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) is on site to assist the hazardous waste response and ensure adequate cleanup is completed.

The Glenn County Transfer Station will be closed until further notice while the spill is remediated. Traffic is being diverted at County Road 33 and County Road D due to the site closure. Waste Management is devising a plan for residential services to limit impacts during this site closure. Information on waste management residential services and site closure will be updated once the cleanup is completed.

For additional information, please go to our website https://www.countyofglenn.net/dept/public-works/solid-waste-recycling/welcome  or call at 530-934-6530.

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