(Fort Smith Times Record)
The EPA says a chemical spill near the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line did not reach the Poteau River.
The spill happened May 2 at C&S Chemicals located in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It involved 77,877 gallons of acidified aluminum sulfate which spilled into a nearby creek. Another 2,900 gallons of sulfuric acid was contained within the company site. The EPA said the tank rupture occurred for an unknown reason. The spill flowed west into a creek crossing into Oklahoma before turning north toward the Poteau River.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Choctaw Nation joined in the response along with the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment and federal agencies.
The Environmental Protection Agency handled the initial cleanup and has since turned over emergency response operations to state and local remediation teams. The US Fish and Wildlife Service also investigated and determined the spill did not reach the Poteau River which flows into the Arkansas River.
A report by AOL indicated the continued monitoring and long-term cleanup efforts will be led by Arkansas officials in coordination with Oklahoma agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the responsible party.
To stabilize conditions, remediation crews treated the waterway with lime to neutralize the low pH levels and installed pumps to increase circulation and improve contact between the contaminated water and treatment materials.
“EPA does not anticipate long-term impacts to water quality from the pH adjustment,” the agency stated in its update.
However, state and local authorities will continue assessing possible long-term effects on wildlife, soil and sediment in and around the creek.
EPA officials also conducted air monitoring for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and reported no exceedances of community air quality standards.
Cleanup operations have continued throughout the past week, with remediation teams reporting improving pH conditions and continued stabilization efforts through aerification, circulation and neutralization treatments.
Officials said monitoring plans for the site are now being finalized as recovery operations continue.