Statewide cleanup efforts continue in Norfolk after a truck accident spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline this past Saturday morning.
“When you lose 8,200 gallons of gasoline, all at the same time, that’s a big event,” said Richard Scalora, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) supervising emergency response coordinator.
One DEEP official said that in 15 years, this is the most involved cleanup they’ve been a part of. Officials have not provided a timetable as to when the area will be clean as workers continue to monitor for contaminants.
“An environmental impact like this, never has this town seen this much activity,” said Jon Barbagallo, public information officer for the town of Norfolk.
Over 20 different agencies from across the state have been working to clean up the mess and to get an understanding of the larger impact of a spill of this size.
“A lot of this stuff, gasoline, has gotten into the soils. It’s also running in the water beneath the soils, so we’re doing some investigative work underneath,” Scalora said.
Officials expect the affected part of Route 44 to remain closed through the weekend, but that’s just one of three areas currently in emergency mode.
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“The main crash site along Route 44, the secondary site here on maple avenue, and then just down the stream where this all empties into,” Barbagallo said.
While the focus remains on containing the runoff, there’s a growing concern that rain in the coming days could make that task even more challenging.
“The working conditions, the runoff, what’s it going to do to the gasoline in the soils and where’s it going to move it to?” Barbagallo said.
It’s those questions that have created even more urgency for the crews.
“The weather event this weekend is a very big concern for all parties involved here,” Scalora said.
Officials say the majority of residents in the area use city water which will not be affected, and for those that do have private wells, Scalora said no contamination has been found as of Wednesday afternoon.
“Obviously, the townspeople here are concerned about their homes and their properties and what’s it going to do long-term to them to resale, to health concerns,” Barbagallo said. “Those are all things we’re still trying to get answers on.”
