Rescue

Tenn. Firefighters Respond to Sulfur Dioxide Leak

Feb. 7, 2013

A sulfur dioxide leak at Oliver Springs' wastewater treatment plant kept crews from two counties busy as firefighters worked to evacuate the area and stop the leak caused by a faulty valve.

Source The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.

Feb. 06--OLIVER SPRINGS -- Emergency crews from two counties worked together to contain a potentially hazardous leak of sulfur dioxide from Oliver Springs' wastewater treatment plant this morning.

Concentrated amounts of the gas, when combined with water, can form highly corrosive sulfuric acid, Oak Ridge Deputy Fire Chief David Harrington said.

A worker arriving at the Joel Road plant about 8 a.m. heard an alarm sounding inside the building, looked inside a window and saw an indicator showing the gas leak, Harrington said.

Members of the Roane County Emergency Management Agency and the Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs fire departments responded.

Harrington said members of the Oliver Springs Fire Department advised some of the nearest neighbors to "shelter in place" as two members of the Roane County EMA entered the building.

Two cylinders of sulfur dioxide attached through a manifold were leaking through what was apparently a faulty valve, Harrington said.

He said the leak wasn't significant.

After the two-hour operation, the two EMA firefighters were sprayed with water as a precautionary decontamination measure.

Harrington said sulfur dioxide is used in treating wastewater.

More details as they develop online and in Thursday's News Sentinel.