Cause of New Bedford chemical reaction remains mystery

(NECN: New Bedford, Mass.) – Authorities in New Bedford, Massachusetts, continue to investigate the cause of an unknown gas or vapor at a city trash hauling company. Statement from the Mayor’s Office: New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and New Bedford Fire Chief Paul E. Leger said that after an extensive response from federal, state and local public safety and environmental agencies, the investigation into the source of the gas or vapor at the ABC Disposal facility that injured several workers yesterday continues, but that the building does not pose a public safety threat. One of the critically injured workers has been able to speak with investigators in only the past few hours and has provided crucial information about the incident and how it started. Investigators are following up on that information. State and National Guard Hazardous Materials response teams performed extensive state of the art monitoring and metering of the facility and made multiple entries to the site over a period of 12 hours. At no time were any elevated levels of materials detected. With the assistance of State Police fire investigators they systematically explored and examined potential sources of the release within the facility. After interviews with workers, consultation with physicians on the results of medical test, reviewing videotape, many hours of searching and testing several areas of interest, no definitive product has been found. It is believed that the vapors dissipated so quickly that nothing was left for the meters to detect despite the sophistication of the equipment. One of the areas of concern was the odorant control system but there is no evidence of an active leak. Another area of concern is what is called a float tank where debris is cleaned. Like so many fire investigations, the combination of forensic scene examination and witness statements will provide the clues to what transpired, when little evidence remains. The source has not yet been identified, despite making every possible effort using well-equipped and well-trained personnel. The emergency response has now concluded. This could have been a one-time fluke incident where something traveled though the system that caused a bad reaction, but several steps are being taken to ensure safety as we move forward and to ensure there is nothing intrinsic to the system that caused the event. Oversight of the building has been turned over to the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and city health officials. We expect the company will bring in consultants to check the odorant control system. Fire officials have requested that the MassDEP oversee a complete purging and testing of the system to ensure there are no undetected leaks and that the chemical process is intact. Before workers can reoccupy the building, it is important to ensure that the problem does not recur when the system reactivates. These steps should take place before the building is reoccupied.