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North Salt Lake Chemicals

 
Site Contact:
Martin McComb
On-Scene Coordinator

(mccomb.martin@epa.gov)

Site Location:
North Salt Lake, UT 84054
 response.epa.gov/NorthSaltLakeChemicals

Site Update

Site Description

  •  On May 23, 2023, Davis County Department of Health requested assistance from Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) at a private residence in North Salt Lake, Utah. The residence contains numerous containers of hazardous chemicals that were collected by the resident over approximately 30 years. The chemicals include several gallons of elemental mercury. The mercury has escaped containment and is affecting indoor air quality.
  • UDEQ staff visited the residence and quickly referred the incident to EPA Emergency Response. EPA deployed a Response Team to the residence on June 5, 2023 to secure and dispose of the chemicals as well as address mercury contamination in the home. The majority of the chemicals are in the garage of the residence. Most of the containers are intact and there is significant mercury contamination in the garage.


EPA Response Team Member at work. Tire decontamination. Conditions in the garage. Plastic and containment on driveway at the Site. Preparing first load for disposal. Blocking airflow between garage and living space. Items from garage staged for decontamination. Response Team working in the garage. Garage household hazardous waste items to be sorted for identification and disposal. Heaters being used in a tent during process to decontaminate items from the garage. Garage being cleared out. Site dog in charge of morale. Traffic restriction at the Site. Decontaminating items in the garage. Items that cannot be decontaminated packaged for disposal. Decontaminated items ready to be returned to property owner. EPA Team and South Davis Metro Fire analyzing unknown chemicals. Identifying unknown chemicals. Area used to identify unknown chemicals. Items from garage being dried during the decontamination process. Chemicals being secured for transport. Initiating heat / vent operations in the garage. Removing last of contaminated items from garage. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Image from initial assessment conducted by Utah Department of Environmental Quality.
For additional information, visit the Notices section.