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Students and teachers from the Sunnyside Environmental School were visiting Tideman Johnson park on Sept. 17 when they made a grim discovery — the waters of Johnson Creek were foaming, and the fish in the normally biologically diverse stream seemed to be struggling to survive.
Concerned school staff reported the odd occurrence to Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Noah Jenkins, Conservation Director of the Johnson Creek Watershed Council told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The following day, JCWC volunteers checked out the site, only to discover “large numbers of dead organisms” littering the creek, including various species of bony fish, lamprey, salamanders, crawfish, tadpoles and many more, Jenkins said.
The cause of the mass killing, according to environmental investigators, was nearly 400 gallons of caustic chemicals, allegedly leaked from the Precision Castparts Corporation Structurals plant upstream.
“In mid-September, while installing an additional air quality control device for our operations, process water from the unit discharged to our stormwater system and ultimately to Johnson Creek. We immediately discontinued the use of the control device,” company spokesperson David Dugan told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a prepared statement. “We deeply regret the discharge and are taking steps to prevent future releases.”
An Oregon DEQ pre-enforcement notice filed on Friday states that most of the 394 gallons of chemicals spilled between Sept. 17 and Sept 19 was sodium hydroxide, a caustic base that was also one of the main active ingredients in the cleaner-laced pretzels that allegedly poisoned elementary school children at a Tigard school last year.
In addition to the sodium hydroxide — also commonly known as lye — the company spilled sodium hydrosulfide and sodium chlorite, which are also highly toxic to aquatic life, the notice says.
“Sodium hydroxide, sodium hydrosulfide and sodium chlorite are all caustic chemicals that can create high-pH conditions, depending on their concentrations in a stream,” Oregon DEQ spokesperson Michael Loch said in an email. “High pH in streams can damage fish gills, which they rely on to absorb oxygen, and it can upset the balance of salts and other chemicals in their bodies.”
Jenkins added that sodium hydroxide can also chemically react with water to reduce the amount of available oxygen in streams, causing fish to suffocate in addition to the damage to their gills.
Precision Castparts is likely facing two Class I violations of Oregon environmental law, which are the most serious category of environmental violations on the books, records show.
Although the incident remains under investigation, the case is being referred to DEQ’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement, which will determine what financial penalties the company will face.
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