March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Chlorine release is cause for concern

I would like to address the Nov. 17 accident at HoltraChem in Orrington which released 1,700 pounds of chlorine.

I am appalled and outraged that no siren was sounded to warn citizens of the serious chlorine release at the HoltraChem plant along Route 15 in Orrington. Residents of Hampden should also be concerned that no warning was given, as Hampden residences and schools immediately across the river from the plant could also be threatened, depending on weather conditions.

The claim that this was a “minor” incident that did not warrant an emergency response shows poor judgment on several people’s part. Do we need dead bodies before action is taken? Seventeen hundred pounds of chlorine is a major incident. We are fortunate nobody was seriously injured.

I happened to be driving by HoltraChem at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17, and with the car windows closed due to the cold weather, I smelled the very strong chlorine. It was strong enough for me to realize I had better not open my window to get fresh air and I’d better drive away from the area as fast as I could. If I had had to stop for a train blocking the road, I would have been one of the people going to the hospital for assistance.

Not only should the alarm have been sounded, but emergency measures should have been taken to re-route traffic along the highway away from the area and to alert the railroad to stop trains from passing through the area, thereby blocking evacuation routes. One motorist who was blocked by a train did have to go to the hospital.

Three years ago, I was on the citizens’ committee demanding the installation of the siren. At the time, several of us were apprehensive about the decision to accept the manual system, rather thah an automatice system that would be activated by sensors. That siren should be no different than a smoke detector. It should go off automatically if a toxic level of chlorine is detected. People living in nearby residences need immediate warning to go indoors, shut down furnaces and close windows. Waiting several minutes for plant personnel and fire chiefs to make decisions could be too late for them.

I urge the careful review of the emergency response plan to address the lack of appropriate response to this incident, and the serious consideration of installing automatic sensors to supplement the existing manual activation. I am convinced that a few false alarms from an automatic sensor could provide needed drills, and that the concern of false alarms is a poor excuse not to provide adequate protection for area residents.

The Emergency Response Plan submitted to the State Emergency Response Commission in 1991 by the previous owner of the chlorine plant describes the danger zone from a large spill to be a five-mile radius, which extends north to the Bangor International Airport, south to the northern corner of Winterport, west past Hampden Center, east past Fields Pond and includes Interstates 95 and 395, South Brewer and downtown Bangor. This area is confirmed by an actual spill on July 10, 1979, when trees were chemically burned in Hampden and the chlorine cloud reportedly drifted as far north as the airport.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s 1990 Emergency Response Guidebook likewise states that for small spills of chorine, one should “protect those persons in the downwind direction” for three miles, and for large spills, the distance should be five miles.

The presence of this chlorine plant in Orrington generates truck and rail traffic transporting these hazardous chemicals along the major highways and rail lines through Penobscot County, Hancock County and beyond. For this reason, local emergency personnel need to be well trained and educated about the hazards and appropriate response to accidents. This is the kind of government service we citizens need for our tax dollars.

I presume there is also some sort of licensing of companies that handle these materials. The licensing requirements should ensure that proper precautions and training are an ongoing part of their operations. Repeated disregard for public safety should be grounds for shutting down the plant.

Patricia D. Snyder lives in Orrington.


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