Chemical spill being cleaned up

Firefighters from the Yuma Fire Department were being assisted by city of Yuma employees in the cleanup of a ferrous chloride spill at a sewage lift station Monday.

According to Dave Nash, public affairs manager for the city, the spill of 150 gallons of the chemical, which is used to alleviate odors from the sewage system, resulted from a break in an underground pipeline between the lift station and the site where it is injected into the sewer system.

“We were on it right away. We have properly trained, properly equipped individuals on scene.”

Nash said the spill was discovered shortly before 9 a.m. by employees from the city's water pollution control unit, who were making their morning rounds of the facility.

The break in the pipeline, Nash said, happened in a vacant area about 100 yards north of the 36th Street lift station, which runs along Avenue 3E.

“The liquid percolated up to the surface and was reported,” Nash said.

The chemical spill does not pose a public safety risk, and according to Nash, no evacuations of nearby facilities were necessary. Nash added that it was also not necessary to close 3E to traffic.

Nash said it could take several hours to clean up the spill and repair the leak. He said the chemical was being made into a solid by adding dirt, and then being hauled off and disposed of properly.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.