Wenatchee's Recent Asphalt Plant Industrial Accident

On Sunday, I was sick to my stomach. My stomach hurt and I was breathing asphalt fumes again at 4 a.m. I looked outside and opaque smoke was coming from the Basin Asphalt plant. I went outside and got photos. Then, being a weekend, there was no one to call except an EPA emergency line. The guy didn't realize it was that bad. He thought I was complaining of regulation problems or a little smoke, and told me they only respond to immediate accidents. I told him this kept happening at this plant, and that last time, the smoke was worse, after the "bags blew" and no one shut down the plant and didn't fix the problem until days later. The EPA guy gave my number to an organization that handles fines.

I also left a message with the State department of Ecology.

I got a phone call yesterday from Ecology. He said it had been a big industrial accident and the fire station responded. They now had to show a plan that would describe how they were going to protect against this in the future.

Jerod told me he'd received numerous complaints, even coming from across the river. He said that when he got so many calls, he knew something was wrong. He seemed to think the other things I'd complained about, were no big deal, because there were not a lot of calls. I told him maybe people were just aware of things now and keeping a better eye out.

I told Jerod that the smog had been even worse when the "bags blew" and that I had felt worse, and almost passed out, and had headaches for weeks when the fumes were going, before the "blow" and after, and nausea as well. Last Sunday, my stomach hurt badly, from the fumes.

Jerod didn't want to do anything about investigating why the plant hadn't shut down and replaced bags immediately.

I told Jerod that the "opacity" I'd witnessed coming from that plant, at night, a few months ago, was much thicker and voluminous than what I saw yesterday.

At this point I'm pessimistic. Cars/trucks were going by when I was taking my photos of the "industrial accident" on Sunday. Perhaps that's the only reason someone actually did something about it, like call the fire station, where they would otherwise try to keep the whole thing under wraps.

At any rate, my call to EPA on Sunday, to that emergency line, was appropriate afterall. I don't know why the guy didn't believe me--he actually said something about how they wouldn't go out unless there were dangerous or high levels of emissions. There were, but he thought I was just some neighbor complaining about the smell.

Jerod told me if something like this happened again, to seal off the house. He acted like this "accident" of only a few hours was a big deal, but ignored the fact that when the "bags blew" the smog could be seen from downtown Wenatchee, and it went on for days, and the fumes were leaking even before the bags suddenly and completely gave out. I know, because I was nauseous for months before the "bags blew", whenever I could smell the smoke. After they replaced the bags, late, and the "scavenging system", even when I could smell the fumes, I didn't get headaches, or nausea.