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Cleanup continued Tuesday at the site of a hydraulic fluid spill into the Allegheny River in Lower Burrell.
The state Department of Environmental Protection is overseeing work the Braeburn Alloy Steel facility, where the fluid leaked from a containment area at the plant and into the river Monday afternoon.
That work primarily consists of using containment booms at the outfall to the river, and vacuuming and placing absorbent material in the containment area, said Lauren Camarda, DEP spokeswoman.
Responding crews identified the substance as hydraulic fluid from two containment tanks totaling more than 7,000 gallons and an underground storage pit, according to a statement from the Lower Burrell No. 3 fire company.
Chief Brennan Sites could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
Camarda said the total amount of material released is unknown.
It took almost three hours to contain the spill. First responders said Monday they had the spill contained by just before 6 p.m.
There were no reported injuries.
Camarda described hydraulic oil as a generally non-hazardous hydrocarbon but it could be harmful to aquatic life in smaller streams.
“However, residual material that was not contained will continue to dissipate, and DEP did not observe impacts to aquatic life in the river,” Camarda said. “The closest downstream drinking water facility has been notified.”
Camarda directed questions on the cause and source of the leak to Braeburn Alloy Steel. Officials from Electralloy, Braeburn Alloy’s parent company, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Fire crews said Monday they believed the leak may have stemmed from the plant’s containment center not holding, and the material entering a drain that goes out into a spillway.
In Tarentum, Manager Dwight Boddorf said the borough has taken several additional water samples, and that its water remains safe.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we will continue to take more samples than required to ensure our water supply’s ongoing safety and quality over the next few days,” he said.
The spill came two weeks after a furnace explosion at the plant killed 20-year-old Daniel Vakulick of Tarentum and injured two others, one seriously.
Lower Burrell Police and the federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration continue to investigate the blast, said OSHA spokeswoman Joanna Hawkins. OSHA has up to six months to complete the investigation.
The plant has not been in normal operation since the explosion.
Late Monday, officials reported the slick from the spill could be seen as far down river as the Tarentum Bridge but no other water supplies reported being affected.
Jim Matta, manager for the Municipal Authority of New Kensington, said Monday his crews were closely monitoring the authority’s intake and testing its water but no contamination had been found. The authority has the closest downriver water intakes on the Westmoreland County side of the river, where the spill occurred.
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
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