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Department of Ecology News Release - December 9, 2008
08-321
BELLEVUE – The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Seattle Biodiesel LLC $20,000 for an oil and chemical spill to the Duwamish River last year.
An overflow occurred on July 27, 2007, at the company’s facility – at 6333 1st Ave. S. on the east shore of the Duwamish – while an employee pumped a processing-chemical mixture of vegetable oil, biodiesel, sodium hydroxide, methanol and glycerin from a large tank to a small portable tank.
The mixture flowed across a driveway into a small inlet along the Duwamish River. An estimated 620 gallons of the mixture reached the waterway. of which all but 23 gallons was recovered. There were no reports of fouled birds or fish killed as a result of the spill. The cleanup ended on Aug. 3, 2008.
The company reported the spill promptly and hired a cleanup firm to contain the spill, and clean oil from the water and shoreline. The spill was confined to the small inlet. The water-soluble glycerin, methanol and sodium hydroxide dissipated into the river.
“Washington law requires careful handling of any oil to prevent spills,” said Dale Jensen, who heads Ecology’s spill prevention, preparedness and response program. “Seattle Biodiesel responded well to this spill, but all oil refiners must take stringent steps to keep oil under control at every step.”
An Ecology investigation determined that an employee didn’t properly monitor the transfer from the 6,000-gallon tank to the 300-gallon container.
“The use of biodiesel and other alternative fuels offers significant environmental benefits,” Jensen said. “At the same time, plant-based oils, biodiesel and related processing chemicals cause environmental harm when spilled.”
Washington state’s spill prevention and cleanup laws regulate vegetable oil and biodiesel as oil. Plant-based oils – while less toxic than petroleum-based oils – can reduce dissolved oxygen in water, potentially suffocating fish and other organisms as they degrade.
Methanol – or wood alcohol – and glycerin biodegrade quickly in water. A one-gallon methanol spill can remove the dissolved oxygen from about 100,000 gallons of surface water.
Biological oils also can foul feathers of marine birds, reducing their ability to insulate themselves and keep warm.
In addition, chemicals used to convert plant oils to fuels can harm the environment or create hazardous conditions when spilled.
Sodium hydroxide is strongly caustic and is capable of burning skin on contact. Cleanup crews responding to the July 27, 2007 spill were forced to take additional precautions to protect themselves from this hazard. They could not use rubber oil-recovery equipment to clean up the spill because sodium hydroxide can melt rubber.
The company immediately took measures to improve the oversight and control of oil transfers at the facility. The company has since discontinued biodiesel manufacturing at the site and uses the facility for research.
Ecology’s spill programs are part of the department’s ongoing efforts to reduce toxic threats to people and the environment and to achieve the state’s goal of restoring and preserving Puget Sound.
Seattle Biodiesel may appeal the penalty to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
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Media Contacts:
Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 425-649-7009; pager 206-663-1785
David Byers, Ecology Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program,
360-407-6974
John Williams, Scoville Public Relations (for Seattle Biodiesel), 206-625-0075
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
