Town Of Brookfield: Hazmat Spill - Candlewood Lake School Construction Site

Brookfield CT

13 December, 2021

2:12 PM

Description

Press release from the Town of Brookfield: December 12, 2021 - 6:08pm For Immediate Release December 12, 2021 Town of Brookfield & Brookfield Public Schools On Friday afternoon, December 10th, 2021, Brookfield leadership was informed of a hydraulic fluid spill caused by a burst hose from a concrete pump truck on the site of the new school project, which led to a leak of an estimated 5-15 gallons of hydraulic fluid located to the far Northwest corner of the property, at the new Candlewood Lake Elementary School construction site on the Huckleberry Hill School property. At no time were students, staff or neighbors placed at risk from the spill.    After identifying the leak was in fact hydraulic fluid, the Owner's Project Manager, Rob Tencza of Arcadis Inc., notified the Owner's Construction Manager, Gus Kotait of O&G Industries and the Town of Brookfield Land Use Offices, both who responded immediately. The Brookfield Land Use Office reported the spill to the Fire Marshal, the Fire Chief, and Volunteer Fire Department, all dispatched to help contain the fluid. The CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) emergency response coordinator and Moran Environmental (of Newtown, CT) deployed to the site and were on the scene within 45 minutes of notification. The spill was kept contained to a limited area by the Fire Department through the use of absorbent pads and booms, and the fluid on the ground's surface was quickly picked up by vacuum trucks operated by MER. The success of this cleanup operation was a direct result of a collaborative effort which relied heavily on interagency cooperation. Brookfield's Schools' Facilities Director, Dan Caldwell, and Brookfield's Chief Sanitarian, Paul Avery, consulted directly with Licensed Operator, Water Systems Specialties (Mr. RD Lemay) about the school's water systems and subsequently made notification to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) of the incident. The wells that service the school are not in the vicinity of the spill (located on the east side of the site closest to Candlewood Lake Road), so Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is deemed safe for students and staff on Monday, December 13th. Furthermore, all neighboring wells are sufficiently far enough away so as not to be a health concern.  State and local officials will be on site on Monday to collect soil samples, direct any additional mitigation measures and to review and direct the scope of soil removal and remediation to protection of local wetlands and water sources. Questions regarding this matter should be directed to the First Selectman's Office (203)775-7301 or Superintendent of Schools Office (203) 775-7621. This press release was produced by the Town of Brookfield. The views expressed here are the author's own.