Initial reports were
the fire may have started in an aluminium chip melter that malfunctioned. The fire quickly leapt to the roof of the two story
building.
An Alcoa spokesperson
said the cast house and the nearby extrusion building facilities located in the
center of the sprawling Alcoa plant just outside the village of Massena, were
evacuated. There were no reported
injuries.
Heavy black smoke
covered the village of Massena shortly after the fire broke out and was visible
for miles outside of Massena.
Firefighters from
Massena, Louisville, Brasher-Winthrop and several other departments responded
to the fire scene. Firefighters were attempting to get a helicopter to the area
to conduct an aerial inspection.
More Photos of the Fire
There are no
lasting environmental effects from last week’s Alcoa fire, according to New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
DEC's division
of Chemical Spills traveled to Massena after the fire broke out March 29. The
agency made sure any runoff from water and foam used to fight the fire did not
seep into the ground and contaminate the surrounding area. The water and foam
could have picked up oil and other industrial pollutants.
Alcoa has a
wastewater treatment system that was able to process that water, A potential
chemical spill at the site is no longer a concern for DEC. It is being treated,
they have a very good treatment system, a DEC spokesman said.
DEC’s water
quality and air quality divisions were consulted after the fire but were not on
the scene. Alcoa, not DEC, completed air quality samplings.
There were no
red flags based on the air quality reports Alcoa provided to DEC. “They stated
there was no concerns shown on their ambient air monitors,” DEC spokesman said. “There’s always some
potential hazardous materials in the smoke. ... There’s always some potential
for chemicals in any kind of smoke.”
Despite the
size of the blaze and the thick black smoke that billowed over Massena, there
don’t appear to be any long-term effects from the fire. I don’t see anything
that says things were amiss. It was handled appropriately. We’re confident
there was no lasting environmental impact from the fire, said the DEC spokesman”
The state
Department of Health can be tasked with investigating the human health and
safety risks following an incident. The agency was not contacted to travel to
Massena after last week’s blaze, spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said.
Alcoa continues
to investigate the cause of the fire in the cast house and the estimated cost
of damage. Alcoa spokesperson previously said the company was not planning to
lay off anyone after the fire and had instead shifted some personnel to other
operations in the Massena West Plant.
On Friday, Alcoa
spokesman said Alcoa was working to restore its ability to cast molten aluminum
into ingot, the process which the fire sidelined last week.
“Production in
smelting and extrusions is continuing while the fire investigation and
structural integrity review of the cast house continues,” Alcoa spokesman said
in an email. “Crews are working to clean and restore services like potable
water, compressed air, steam and natural gas — all components of our process. Everyone
is working together extremely well, we have Alcoa resources here from many
other Alcoa locations, in addition to various contractors. ... We are focusing
our efforts on getting one of our four casting complexes back in operation.
There is no timetable for when that will occur.”
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing that information. It's always a good lesson learning from such kind of incident. I have been to Alcoa Lafayette extrusion plant, Davenport rolling plant and Cleveland forging plant. All of these plants take safety issue seriously. Safety is vital to all aluminum plants.
Thank you for commenting, the APSB editors have been to several Alcoa facilities around the world and concur with your statement. Alcoa is proactive towards safety.
:( I hope no injuries
This affected all across the EPS group of Alcoa outside USA. We got an announcement that the fire caused $6.6 M in damages. This was given as one of the reasons for deferring annual merit rises (except for the top bosses- which is normal). That's how we got know. Thank god no one got injured. Hope it will be seriously investigated.
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