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Officials confirm pH spikes reached ditches and Columbia River; testing continues, no airborne contamination detected
Summary
State and federal agencies are sampling air and water after plant monitoring showed pH spikes that reached storm drains and ditches feeding the Columbia River; ecology and EPA are on site, and early air tests show no evidence of airborne contamination.
State and federal environmental agencies are conducting water and air monitoring after plant records showed spikes in pH that reached storm drains and ditches connected to the Columbia River.
"Representatives from the Washington state department of ecology and The United States Environmental Protection Agency remain on scene assisting public health, public utilities, and our diking districts on the issues of environmental monitoring and mitigation operations," Scott Goldstein said. He added that both fixed and portable air monitoring and water-quality sampling were occurring.
Company monitoring reported high-pH spikes at the time of the initial incident and additional spikes two to three hours later. Brian Wood, director of support services for Nippon Dynaway Packaging, said the plant's continuous pH monitoring "showed spikes of high pH material at roughly the initial incident at 07:15 in the morning," and later spikes that transited the site via storm drains to the Consolidated Diking Improvement District ditch. "The report we have is that some of the carp that reside in that ditch were affected by that high pH material," Wood said.
Governor Bob Pearson reiterated monitoring results so far and said, "those results show no evidence of airborne contamination," while adding that the state will continue monitoring over coming days.
Officials said signage was placed by environmental partners and that the public should avoid dike and ditch areas near the industrial corridor from Washington Way to Prudential. Ecology and EPA will continue sampling and further evaluations are underway to better understand the scope and extent of environmental impact, including additional water testing and neutralization plans developed with the Diking District.
The company said it reported the pH events to Ecology "as required by our permit" and pledged to cooperate with investigations and remediation. Officials emphasized that the scope and full environmental consequences remain under evaluation.
