dead fish in N. Carolina due to pressure-washing chemicals

[donsu]

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?cid=13201&cat=dis&lang=eng


Betsy Anderson and her husband, Mel Battle, were walking on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway on Saturday morning when they noticed that nothing in the creek was moving."There were just dead fish all over the place," Anderson said.Hundreds of them died, from Carolinas Medical Center toward Freedom Park, after chemicals that were being used in pressure-washing leaked into the creek, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stormwater Management officials.Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and the Charlotte Fire Department were alerted early Saturday; a hazardous-materials team tested the water and determined there was no immediate threat to the public, to workers or to nearby businesses, said Rob Brisley, spokesman for the Charlotte Fire Department.The fish weren't so fortunate.CMC had hired ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance to pressure-wash new concrete on its property. ValleyCrest violated city and state laws by using an acidic chemical compound as part of its pressure-washing, said Rusty Rozzelle, water quality program manager with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stormwater Management.The acidic chemical lowered the pH levels in the water to 6 (7 to 9 is normal for the creek), killing the fish.ValleyCrest agreed to remove the dead fish and could face up to a $10,000 fine, Rozzelle said.ValleyCrest officials could not be reached for comment Saturday evening. CMC cooperated with authorities to determine the cause, said Debra Pierce, vice president of marketing for CMC.Commercial pressure-washing is not a violation of drought-related city or county water restrictions, Rozzelle said. But the drought is an aspect of the incident: Low water levels in the creek added to the problem, Rozzelle said. The water flow was not sufficient to dilute the washing chemicals.The pressure-washing lasted 11 hours, dumping the chemical from a stormwater drain near a CMC parking deck that faces the creek. Around noon Saturday, upstream from the drain, the water was clear and fish were alive; downstream, the water was clouded and the fish were dead.)
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I thought pressure-washing was just water.

are there no regs. on chemicals in pressure-washing water? silly question. there are no regs. in neo con land.

[ret5hd]

1. bet they used muriatic acid, commonly used to clean concrete.

[NC_Nurse]

2. Lots of them use bleach.

Chlorine kills anything, including people if they get too much exposure.

[robinlynne]

3. Insated of a fine, i think they should pay tor emove every last bit of chemicals, and

buy fish adn rstock the creek and make it even more beuatiful than it was before. I think all polluters should have to fix the environment 100% more than the damage they have caused.

[kestrel91316]

5. Yep. Make them restore the creek to its original condition, AND

fine them $500,000 or so, to be paid to groups that do environmental restoration of riparian and wetland areas. A full-page printed apology and details of what they are doing to make amends in the local newspaper would also be appropriate.

People like this ought to wake up every morning for the rest of their lives, thankful that I'M not the judge when they get brought to the bench.

[robinlynne]

7. I vote for you to be the judge!

[Subdivisions]

4. I believe that for cleaning concrete or mortar an acidic chemical

known as muriatic acid is added to the water.

That would account for the pH level rise.

[donsu]

6. do they ever wash with two or more different chemicals in the water?

nt