ALCOA Specialty Chemicals; Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee | 1992-Oct-01

Initial Notification: At 0930, on October 1, 1992, approximately 130,000 pounds of sodium luminate was spilled at the ALCOA Specialty Chemicals facility on the Cumberland River, Nashville, TN. The manifold of a four-inch pipe at the railcar loading area had been left open after a transfer on the night of September 30. Weather at the time of the incident was sunny and clear, winds at 5 miles per hour out of the east, and air temperature 67?F. The USCG Marine Safety Detachment Nashville was notified by ALCOA and acted as First Federal Official On Scene until the representative from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IV arrived. The USCG COTP Paducah closed the river until a site assessment could be performed. ALCOA hired a cleanup contractor to remove the sodium luminate from the area and prevent additional product from entering the river. The river was reopened at 1230. EPA arrived at 1345 and coordinated a monitoring plan to measure pH along the river. Cleanup was conducted without incident or further release into the river, and was completed on October 2. USCG district 2. Keyword: none.