Firm Had Violations Before Chemical Spill MELVINDALE

Oct 17, 07:12 AM

Current Headlines: By Zlati Meyer and Tina Lam, Detroit Free Press

Oct. 17--Reilly Plating Co. in Melvindale, the site of Tuesday's chemical leak that caused the evacuation of about 3,000 people, including three schools, has a history of environmental violations, according to state and federal regulators.

The evacuation ended shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday. It was prompted by a hydrochloric acid leak from a rooftop tank reported at about 7:20 a.m.

Melvindale officials did not report any injuries, but a man was treated at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn for throat irritation, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The plant was operating without a required air quality permit but had been working with the state Department of Environmental Quality to get one, said DEQ spokesman Bob McCann.

The company had also allowed more than the permitted amounts of some chemicals to escape into the air.

"It wasn't anything major, but something that did need to be addressed," McCann said.

Representatives from Reilly Plating, which provides metal finishing services to the automotive and other industries, could not be reached for comment.

Reilly Plating also has a history of water quality violations dating to at least 2004 that continued into this year, McCann said, citing data the state received from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Mary Sevakis, a spokeswoman for DWSD, said officials had gone back to 2005 and found no violations by the company that required enforcement.

"Whether DWSD has taken enforcement action against them or not, I don't know, but we know there is still a problem," McCann said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined the company $9,415 in May 2001 for a record-keeping violation, said Mick Hans, spokesman for the agency in Chicago.

The residential evacuation began between 8:30 and 9 a.m., Melvindale Fire Chief Scott Wellman said. District administrators evacuated Allendale Elementary, Strong Middle and Melvindale High schools at approximately 11 a.m.

According to McCann, 500 to 3,000 gallons of acid leaked from the tank.

A man walking his dog in the neighborhood was treated at Oakwood Hospital, spokeswoman Paula Rivera-Kerr said.

Contact ZLATI MEYER at 313-223-4439 or meyer@freepress.com. Staff writer Niraj Warikoo contributed to this report.

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