A mysterious greenish liquid that forced lane closures after it seeped onto a Michigan interstate Friday allegedly came from a closed electroplating business whose owner is currently serving a year in federal prison for operating an unlicensed hazardous waste storage facility.
Federal agencies had been called to investigate the strange oozing liquid pouring onto I-696 in Madison Heights -- a suburb of Detroit -- which they found to be the chemical hexavalent chromium, Michigan State Police said on Twitter on Saturday.
"At about 2 30 PM on 12/20, we were asked by Madison Heights Fire Dispatch to block the right lane of eastbound I-696 near Couzens while the fire department cleaned up a liquid spill," MSP Metro Detroit said. "It was later advised a commercial building located on E 10 Mile Road, had been leaking the chemical Hexavalent Chromium. The chemical ran from the basement of the building, down into the ground and found its way through a drain which empties onto eastbound I-696."
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The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) said in a statement that crews had spent Friday night vacuuming the sewers and basement of Electro-Plating Services, where the green liquid was found. A pump was installed to "prevent more offsite migration," EGLE said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The owner of the business, Gary Sayers, pleaded guilty in April to operating an unlicensed waste storage facility and was sentenced to one year in federal prison, according to the outlet.
A mysterious greenish liquid that forced lane closures after it seeped onto a Michigan interstate on Friday allegedly came from a closed electroplating business whose owner is currently serving a year in federal prison for operating an unlicensed hazardous waste storage facility. (MDOT)
The EGLE, then the Department of Environmental Quality had issued the business a cease-and-desist order in December 2016 "for [the] imminent and substantial threat due to the mismanagement of hazardous waste," the statement added.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly moved chemicals from the business but didn't remediate the soil or groundwater contamination.
The agency plans on bringing in an excavator to scoop up the frozen waste where it can be placed in a safe container. They added it could take all weekend and the right lane of I-696 may be closed until at least Monday.
"Please use caution as there will be workers in the area. And a yellow blob," police said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is one of the valence states of the element chromium, which is usually produced by an industrial process. They said it is known to cause cancer and can be used "as pigments in dyes paints, inks, and plastics" or as "an anticorrosive agent added to paints primers or other surface coatings."
"Cr(VI) is known to cause cancer. In addition, it targets the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, skin, and eyes," the administration said. "Industrial processes that involve chromium can result in worker exposure to toxic hexavalent chromium."
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EGLE said a team of investigators determined there is no imminent risk to the public, according to the Detroit Free Press.