Eastman Chemical Co. confirms accidental chemical spill; 8th of year

Chemicals accidentally spilled at Eastman Chemical Company last week and killed fish in the Holston River, Eastman Chemical Company Spokesperson Wanda Valentine said. According to Valentine, approximately 2,150 gallons of acetic acid spilled into a channel that feeds the river last week.

“Anytime we have a discharge to the river, it’s an unfortunate accident,“ Valentine said. “We try very hard to prevent (those incidents), because we realize the river is a natural resource for both our community and our operations.“

Valentine said Eastman notified the appropriate government sources as well as river users downstream. She said the chemical diluted into the water and posed no harm to humans. While the company investigates the cause of the spill, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation continues to monitor Eastman. After all, the company has reported eight chemical spills to the Coast Guard National Response Center this year.

“The incidents that occurred this year were regrettable, but they were also short-term events and the effects were short-lived,“ Valentine said. “We always investigate these incidents. We put together a review team and we determine a fix to the problem once we determine what it is.“

According to Valentine, the company also reported five chemical spills involving the Holston River in 2008.

“The Johnson City Environmental Field Office (Water Pollution Control) has closely monitored and investigated these incidents, which are violations of Eastman’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit,“ TDEC Spokesperson Meg Lockhart said. “I am told these releases have been caused by a number of things—mainly equipment failures, which make them difficult to predict.“

Although TDEC calls the number of fish that have died from the spills a minor amount, the state is aware that the facility has had more spills at its facilities this year compared to previous years.

“The Division of Water Pollution Control continues to monitor the Eastman issues closely,“ Lockhart said. “They also are pursuing an enforcement order in this matter. After the enforcement order is drafted, EPA will need to review and then it will be issued to Eastman. I am told the order will cover 2008 through today and will address multiple unauthorized discharges that have occurred during this period.“

According to TDEC, enforcement orders usually arrive at companies with fines attached to them. Eastman is waiting to hear more about that order.

“Tennessee typically combines multiple alleged violations into a single enforcement action rather than bring an action for each one,“ Valentine said. “The State currently is in the process of taking such an enforcement action involving Eastman.“