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Title: Acid spill kills fish in Salem creek

A plant that makes silicon wafers is responsible, according to officials

Saturday, April 1, 2000

From The Associated Press

SALEM -- A sulfuric acid spill from Mitsubishi Silicon America into Pringle Creek killed a large number of fish but apparently poses no threat to humans, company officials said.

Enviro News

An archive of Oregonian stories related to environmental concerns, ranging from salmon protection and federal logging legislature to urban growth and water quality control.

Wayne Hunt, a fish biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said he was confident the number of dead fish would be in the thousands, although the total has not been calculated.

The damage that Wednesday's spill caused to the ecosystem of the creek in Bush's Pasture Park, in southeast Salem, is unknown. Pringle Creek meanders for more than two miles, mostly through industrial and business areas, before it reaches the park.

A parks employee found the dead fish Wednesday morning. Officials at the company, which makes silicon wafers, shut down a pump, suspended some manufacturing operations, and contacted city and state officials, said Mike Gotterba, the company's environmental manager.

The company didn't notify the neighboring community, Gotterba said, because city and state officials typically decide whether spills are dangerous enough to notify the public.

The city of Salem and officials with the state Department of Environmental Quality took no steps to notify the public. The company sent out a news release about 26 hours after the incident.

Frank Mauldin, Salem public works director, said no warning signs were posted Wednesday because investigators weren't sure for much of the day what was causing the fish to die.

Gotterba said he thinks the spill occurred during a 24-hour period. Its cause, and exactly how much sulfuric acid was spilled, remain unknown.

The acidity of the water at the park has returned to close to its normal level, said Mike Wolski, the city's environmental compliance manager.

Copyright 2000 Oregon Live.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/news/oregonian/00/04/nw_71spill01.frame

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 01, 2000