3 Melvindale Schools, Residents Evacuated After Chemical Spill

Oct 16, 06:12 PM

Current Headlines: By Bowdeya Tweh, Ese Esan and Tina Lam, Detroit Free Press

Oct. 16--UPDATED AT 1:07 P.M.

Melvindale police have evacuated an area near Oakwood and Dix -- including Strong Junior High, Allendale Elementary and Melvindale High School -- because of a chemical spill.

About 675 students from the middle school were sent to Baker College and about 100 elementary students were bused to the Melvindale Ice Arena. Students from the high school with cars have been allowed to go home, others were being taken to Baker and the ice arena.

"Parents can pick up their students, if they wish, with proper identification," the school official said.

People also were evacuated from the Reilly Plating factory at 17760 Clarann, the site of the hydrochloric acid spill. Reillly Plating, about 10 miles southwest of downtown Detroit, provides metal finishing services to the automotive and general industries.

Police said the city's fire department is working to contain the spill. The state's Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are overseeing the cleanup.

Melvindale city officials said that residents in the area near the spill should be able to return by about 3 p.m.

The school evacuations came more than two hours after Melvindale police evacuated the area -- including residents -- early this morning because of a spill at the Reilly plant.

Hydrochloric acid, a highly corrosive liquid that is used to clean auto parts, can cause pain and burns in the mouth, throat, esophagus and gastrointestinal tract, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The acid that leaked came from a tank on the roof of the building, said Bob McCann, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

McCann said the spill appears to be 500 to 3,000 gallons of acid, but is confined to the roof, so there is no foreseeable danger that it will wash into streams or ditches.

"We have no reason to believe anyone is in danger at this point," he said.

He said the spill could be cleaned up by the end of the day, although it's still too early to say for sure. If it rains, the acid could mix with the water and create clouds that could get into nearby areas, he said.

A light rain is expected to move into Melvindale about 2 p.m. and continue throughout the afternoon, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Deedler. "It won't be heavy rain, less than a quarter inch," he said. The rain is expected to end by early evening.

McCann said he wasn't familiar with the company, but staff are checking to see if it has any history of leaks or previous complaints.

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