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CALL PROVES HAZARDOUS TO FIRM'S FINANCES

By DEBORAH MASON - Staff Writer

February 27, 2000 -- Remnants of Y2K preparations proved to be a costly mess for a local business as an emergency call for potentially dangerous hazardous materials turned out to be much ado about nothing.

When the new managers of Statewide Storage in Victorville found three 55-gallon drums, two of which were marked "corrosive green nitro," near the business's fence Saturday morning, they feared for their safety and called the fire department.

"They were worried that green nitro was synonymous with nitroglycerine," said Greg Coon, a hazardous materials specialist with the Victorville Fire Department.

A hazardous materials crew arrived around 9:30 a.m. and tested the contents of the drums for the next four hours.

Upon first inspection of the drums, it appeared that two contained only water, but numerous attempts to contact the previous manager or the business owners were unsuccessful, Coon said.

Meanwhile, the business's personnel were evacuated.

Tests revealed the two "green nitro" drums contained only water, and the other contained gasoline.

"The previous manager of Statewide Storage filled them up with water in case of Y2K (disasters)," Coon said. "We still had to go do all of our testing to make sure it was water."

Now, the business will have to foot the bill for the hazardous materials team's presence and the proper disposal of the drums, which will cost about $2,000, Coon said.

Coon stressed that drums containing chemicals, like green nitro  a corrosive cleaner  should be disposed of properly when no longer in use, and that containers used for chemicals never be used for drinking water.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/topstory/dd022700a.html

Copyright ) 1999 Desert Dispatch.

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-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 28, 2000