DuPont failed to adequately supervise and supply appropriate equipment to employees who tried to contain a sulfuric acid spill at a Wurtland plant in October, state environmental regulators ruled yesterday.
DuPont was issued four citations for the Oct. 11 leak of hundreds of pounds of sulfuric acid into the ground, water and air at the far Eastern Kentucky facility. DuPont could face up to $28,000 in fines -- $7,000 for each citation.
DuPont can appeal the citations by the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, said Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for the state regulatory agency.
DuPont plans to review the department's findings and respond in 15 days, said Wurtland plant manager John Jeffries.
DuPont conducted its own investigation after the spill and implemented some changes, Jeffries said.
"We're reviewing (the citation) to determine where there are items we've addressed and where there may be some need for further action or clarification about the specific concerns identified," Jeffries said.
DuPont officials have said that on the afternoon of Oct. 11, 530 pounds of sulfuric acid mist was released in the air, 80 pounds in the ground and another 80 pounds in the water.
The citations were issued by the cabinet's department of labor, Wolfe said.
DuPont was cited for failing to limit the number of people near the cracked pipe responsible for the leak, not having back-up emergency staff and having no designated safety officer. The Delaware-based company was also cited for failing to have emergency response employees wear protective breathing equipment during the spill.
Meanwhile, DuPont is also facing several lawsuits from residents who claim the October spill has made them sick. Since this fall, more than 75 residents of Greenup County have filed lawsuits in federal court against the company.
Many of the people who claim they now have breathing and vision problems are first responders -- fire, police and ambulance crews who evacuated people near the plant.
After a larger spill of sulfuric acid in 1995, the DuPont plant was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for using the wrong type of pipe to store chemicals, which eventually led to the sulfuric acid gas escaping.
As part of an agreement with the EPA, DuPont agreed in 2000 to pay for a "reverse 911" system to alert people in a 10-county area if there were any future problems at the plant.
Because of internal problems with the system, the reverse 911 system was not used after the October spill.
The Wurtland facility employs 23 full-time workers and makes chemicals that are used in detergents and shampoos and a chemical used in the production of tires.
