NORTHAMPTON — State environmental regulators are investigating a spill of 100 gallons of formaldehyde solution on the grounds of the BI-QEM plastics company in Florence this week.
On Tuesday at around 9 a.m., the Northampton Fire Department notified the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection of the spill in an outdoor containment area at the 238 Nonotuck St. facility, MassDEP said in a statement.
Formaldehyde, a chemical compound with a variety of industrial and other uses, is both toxic and flammable.
“MassDEP emergency response personnel responded and verified that up to 100 gallons of the material (in a frozen state) was in the containment area,” the statement reads. “The company hired a cleanup contractor and licensed site professional to perform cleanup actions, which have been completed.”
The spill was caused by an overfill of the storage tank during delivery Monday, according to MassDEP.
Marvin Cable lives on Willow Street, behind the facility. He said no one notified the neighborhood of the spill. He discovered it on his own while he was driving to work — the spill was visible from the road, he said — and reported it to city, state and federal authorities.
“It hadn’t rained in a day or so and there was a big puddle in the parking lot outside the tank, and that’s abnormal,” Cable said. “When I looked around, there was all kinds of white powder, like from a spill kit.”
Cable sent an email blast to his neighbors, whom he described as “outraged” over this and previous environmental incidents at the plant.
“People are knocking on my door, coming over,” Cable said a few hours after emailing his neighbors. “I’ve fielded probably a dozen phone calls. … The neighborhood’s been complaining for a long period of time.”
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said Thursday that the city is “working hard to bring this company into compliance with local laws and regulations.”
“Our goal is full compliance. The city is grateful to the neighbors for keeping us apprised of events involving BI-QEM,” Sciarra said. “Our own inspection apparatus is deeply involved with the MassDEP and the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure this company is safely operating.”
On March 8, the EPA issued an administrative compliance order to BI-QEM under the Clean Air Act. One month prior, state and federal regulators toured the Florence site and found “among other things, leaking formaldehyde pipes, excessive amounts of potentially combustible dust, electrical hazards, and lack of overflow controls on a large formaldehyde tank,” according to the EPA’s ECHO website, which tracks enforcement and compliance histories.
The EPA order requires “the company to develop and implement a work plan to address the (risk management planning) violations found at the facility. … EPA has been working closely with MA DEP, OSHA, and the local fire department to address hazards found at this site.”
BI-QEM’s Florence office referred a request for comment to a company email address. The company did not provide a comment before Thursday’s print deadline. Representatives of the EPA also did not respond to questions about Monday’s spill.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.