by William Jason Mathews on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 3:40am
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| 199 S. Sherman Drive, Indianapolis, IN |
The property where the leak occurred is located at 199 South Sherman Drive, 46201 and you can see what it looks like on Google Earth if you like. It is a run down, unoccupied office building behind which is a series of large rusty tanks with access valves. The tanks have been there as long as I can remember, and my Grandmother used to live just about a half a block away from them, so that is at least 30 years.
When I arrived the rear most tank was lit up with halogen work lights like those you see on night jobs on highway construction. There were several workmen standing around, at least 3 semi tankers, and a large earth mover in the tank yard. The gate was open.I started taking several pictures, using a flash to announce my presence.When I first arrived I could not smell any petroleum, but as I made my way around to the spilt tank I began to smell oil rather strongly. I began taking pictures of the earth that had been dug up around the tank, the valve of the tank, and three men who were standing talking beyond my ear shot.
Eventually the group dispersed and one of the men began walking over towards my spot at the fence. He asked if they were keeping me awake and I said yes.He introduced himself as the manager of the facility, his name was Gary Baize. I asked if he could tell me what was going on. I didn't have a light to take notes, or a voice recorder at the ready, I will know better next time. This is the basic run down of what he told me, based on my memory.
The oil that was spilled belongs to a company called Metalworking Lubricants Co.
Around noon the Marion County Dept of Health called him. A neighbor had heard a loud popping sound and saw oil shooting into the air from the base of the tank.He told me that a six inch valve had blown. He said it had split down the middle and commented that he had never seen anything like it.
I explained that I had seen Crystal Flash logos on the tanks as recently as 2008, and had assumed the tanks to contain gasoline. He told me that they had rented the site for at least 3 or 4 years. I then asked if the lube oil in the tank might not have been too heavy. He said the valve was rated for the oil. (WISH TV web site says the tank had ruptured, not a valve).
He told me that they had dug a trench to catch the oil and were vaccuumming it up from puddles into the tankers. There were at least 3 maybe 4 tankers on site.He then told me that they were going to suck up the oil then dig up the oil soaked ground and move it to a land fill, and then replace the topsoil with new dirt.
He said that they leased the land from an owner in Florida, and that there was further testing and remediation planned for the site due to possible previous contamination.
I asked what kind of oil was in the tanks and he explained that it was oil that had been recycled from various other companies; that they took used oil and cleaned it, put it in the tanks, and then resold it mainly to companies that burned it to heat asphalt for pavement. He then said that the oil was 'clean' and contained no other toxics or contaminants.
He also told me that the tank was empty, but did not say whether or not it had all spilled or if it had been drained into a tanker.
Finally as I left I caught him again at the gate and asked if they had filed an emergency response plan. He said that they had, that it was public, and that it was filed with IDEM.
UPDATE: 11:59 am, Sept 08, 2010
I just spoke with the manager of the site of the Eastside Indy Oil Spill. The tank has a total volume of 420,000 gallons. At the time of the leak the tank contained approximately 170,000 gallons of oil. I was told that most of the oil had been moved to other tanks on site. I asked if the tankers leaving the site contained oil that had been vacuumed from the ground and was told that they had. I asked how many had left the site full and was told 4. I asked how deep the oil had seeped, since I had seen them digging, and was told that the oil was NOT deep into the ground and did not penetrate past the grass and the roots of the grass. I would have to say that this does not agree with what I witnessed, but I am not an expert by any means. I asked how long the clean up would take and was told that it might be finished by tomorrow. The Indianapolis Star has reported that the cleanup could take 'several days.'
Additional info:
This is a Screenshot from a 1994 case where Metalworking Lubricants CO. requested exemption from cleaning a contaminated site in Indiana, blaming contamination on a prior occupant. PDF file here: http://www.epa.gov/eab/disk5/metalwor.pdf
I have been looking at satellite photos of 1509 South Senate avenue, a much larger MLC facility than the one on Sherman Dr. where they had their oil spill. Just by looking at the Sat images I gather that there are at least 98 tanks at the facility. The site is near, but not on, White River. The site is bordered by a wooded area on the north east and railroads on the south and west. There appears to be some additional tanks in the woods beyond the main facility. Their is a small residential area northeast of the wooded area.
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