MAGNABLEND WAXAHACHIE "CENTRAL FACILITY" UPDATE
December 29, 2011On October 3, 2011, one of the eight Magnablend, Inc. facilities experienced a catastrophic fire in Waxahachie, Texas. After alerting emergency services, all employees quickly evacuated the facility. No employees or fireman were seriously injured. All residual damage from the fire has been contained on the Magnablend property and on the adjacent private property.
In an effort to keep the community informed, the following is a summary of Magnablend's actions related to the property and their environment cleanup efforts to date:Air Monitoring: Air monitoring began immediately following the October 3 fire, and was conducted around the clock for more than seven weeks along the north Waxahachie facility property border and on private, 3rd party property.
Six rounds of air testing by the EPA were conducted at 16 different locations. According to the EPA (Oct. 6), volatile organic chemical (VOC) levels generally have remained low and have not exceeded health based levels.
Water Management: Effective December 13, 2011, a bypass system was installed to capture excess rainwater around the Magnablend property and prevent it from entering and coming in contact with the Magnablend property while it's under treatment. The water is taken from a weir system north of the property on Highway 287 to the creek south of the property.
Water directly impacted by contact with the facility property is being maintained within a collection system of temporary holding tanks on premises and in holding ponds on adjacent private, 3 rd party property. Collected water is tested prior to distribution to either a Waxahachie Waste Water Treatment facility within permitted quantities or, in the case of water requiring additional treatment, to PSC, an industrial treatment services company.
Water Removed To Date (Dec. 28, 2011):
Approximately 4.8 mil. GallonsWater Storage Capacity (Dec. 28, 2011):
On Site: 3 mil. Gallons
Private, 3rd Party Property: 6 mil. GallonsWildlife Impact: Materials released from the Central Facility included high levels of organic nitrogen and organic phosphorus common to animal feed supplements. The release of these materials instigated active biotic growth within private, 3 rd party property bodies of water. This increased biotic growth reduced the oxygen level of the water such that it could not support fish life, resulting in the reported death of 1,800 fish. All impacted water has been contained on either company property or the adjacent private property until testing confirms suitability for offsite distribution.
Property Remediation: An industrial cleaning of the remaining Central Facility slab was performed to prevent additional materials either previously stored materials or those used in fire control/suppression from affecting ground or surface water.
Impacted soil is being collected and tested for offsite treatment.
Environmental Coordination: All soil, water and air monitoring and cleanup has been done in direct coordination with representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the City of Waxahachie, following procedures and protocols that are standard in the case of an event such as the Magnablend Central Facility incident.
Immediately following the October 3 event at the Central Facility, federal and state agencies, including the EPA, TCEQ and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security performed inspections at the Magnablend facilities located in Waxahachie. TCEQ returned a finding requiring action on the part of the company, and other potential evaluation notices are pending. Magnablend is undertaking action plans to achieve full compliance with TCEQ requirements, and has expectation of exceeding both the substance and deadline for required environmental safety precautions.
Additionally, the company has engaged the services of numerous private companies for their respective areas of expertise, including:
ENTACT - a provider of field remediation and construction services
CTEH - a science-based environmental consulting firm
ES&H an environmental consulting and contracting company
TAS Environmental Services an environmental contracting firm
Public Agency Resources
For additional information, please refer to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
http://www.epa.gov/region6/newsevents/
http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/pdf/ground_level_air_monitoring_magnablend_100611.pdf
http://iaspub.epa.gov/enviro/fii_query_dtl.disp_program_facility?p_registry_id=110033019285
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ):
City of Waxahachie:
Texas Department of Health:
