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NRC# 892538 Liquid Transfer Caustic Spill, St Marks, Wakulla County, Florida.
On Monday, Dec 15th, approximately 1000 gallons of sodium hydroxide was released from a faulty gasket on a pipeline connected to an above ground storage tank at the Liquid Transfer Facility in St. Marks, Florida. The product flowed to an adjacent tidal creek before ultimately releasing some of the product into the St. Marks River. A Unified Command was established between EPA, USCG, FDEP, County EMA, DOI and the RP. Response efforts included stabilizing the leaking gasket, sampling the impacted water bodies, conducting water patrols to ensure endangered/threatened species did not enter the area (manatees, migratory birds, alligators, etc.), damming up the tidal creek and pumping out the majority of the contaminated water (ph12+) from the tidal creek. The contaminated water was transferred to a containment area on-site and will be properly treated and disposed of in the next few days.
The RP hired a private contractor to mitigate the spill. The tidal creek was continuously flushed and the contaminated water was placed into a holding area and ultimately recycled at a paper plant (Buckeye). After several flushings, the contractor removed contaminated soil from the most impacted area. This resulted in the reduction of PH in the creek. Several more flushings took place and the PH returned back to an acceptable level.
The contaminated product in the holding area was taken to a paper mill for use in their process. The holding area was then deconned and the residuals were properly disposed of.
All removal actions have been completed by the RP and their contractor.
The RP has initiated actions to repair/replace the faulty gasket.
Unified Command was established immediately and worked very well. Although this spill occurred in the USCG Coastal Zone, the EPA oversaw the cleanup operations.
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