on the cover / By HSU Investigative Reporting students

Meltdown

“As far as the general safety of the public and the bay, the emergency mixing it with water and the slow discharge to the sewer is a good system, when the proper notifications are made,” he said. “The only other feasible alternative is just to take it and mix it with water and have it hauled off as hazardous waste. You cannot discharge it to the bay. It would kill marine life so quickly. And the discharge of gas to the air would kill people in Old Town.”

It wasn’t until news accounts of the shut down of Eureka Ice did workers and residents in the area have any inkling that they lived so near to a potential danger. “I work in Old Town, and the fact that ammonia was so close by is really, really scary,” said Sierrarose Pryzabyla, an employee at Belle Star clothing store. “I had no idea I was in such danger.”

Jeremy Yeo has worked at Los Bagels in Old Town for two years. “I had no clue whatsoever,” he said. “I know that we live in a seismically unstable environment. I’ve felt numerous earthquakes. Not only could an earthquake make those tanks spill their contents — what about tsunamis? That stuff could get washed right back out into the water. I’m quite surprised that, living in a sustainably-minded community, we haven’t found another, safer way to make ice.”

Eureka resident Jennifer Graham lives blocks away from the old Eureka Ice site. “I feel like I should have known about this. I kind of operate under the assumption that if you’re living near some kind of industry that’s using pollutants that are really dangerous for you, it should be well known.”

At the least, Graham said, she feels as if she should have known what to do in the case of a dangerous leak.

Burke said that under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act a community has a right to know where certain chemicals (including anhydrous ammonia) are located, what the hazards are and what to do in an emergency. He believes that there should be plans in place to shelter occupants or evacuate them during a release, whichever is more appropriate under the circumstances. The community should be educated as to what shelters are in place and what to do if an evacuation is ordered.

Eureka Ice had a risk management plan that it filed with Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services but that didn’t include an evacuation plan, said Jeff Poel, senior hazardous material specialist.

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