SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Sunday that it will no longer oversee the cleanup of a massive industrial fire that broke out at a northern Michigan plastics facility on Friday.
The agency says it monitored air quality around the East Jordan Plastics, Inc. site in South Haven through Saturday evening, at which point no elevated levels of particulate matter or volatile organic compounds were found.
By 1 p.m. Saturday, the fire had been extinguished. EPA officials left the site at noon on Sunday after consulting with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and determining that additional monitoring won’t be needed.
However, initial EPA monitoring at the site on Saturday found elevated levels of particulate matter, or PM2.5, in the surrounding area, the agency said, as well as one instance of elevated volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
City officials issued a press release on Monday assuring residents that there is no danger to the public as a result of the fire.
“We understand the concerns of the community and want to assure everyone of the steps that have already been taken, and continue to be taken, to protect air, water and the surrounding habitat,” South Haven City Manager Kate Hosier said.
Responding fire departments used around 2 million gallons of water to contain the fire, according to the city. The plastics facility is working with city and state agencies to contain remaining water runoff in large storage tanks until it can be tested for contaminants.
Firefighters also covered nearby manholes to help contain the runoff, which the EPA sampled and sent to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for monitoring. A floating barrier, or boom, was also installed to limit runoff and debris spilling into nearby creeks, the EPA said.
In a statement posted to the East Jordan Plastics website on Saturday, the company said all workers were quickly evacuated and no injuries were reported. It took approximately 14 hours to put out the fire completely.
“We are working closely with local authorities and emergency responders as they investigate the cause of the fire,” the statement read, in part. “We are grateful to the first responders who worked to protect our employees, our facility and the surrounding community.”
Residents in the area reported widespread power outages as a result of the fire, leading to the cancellation of local events, including South Haven Public Schools’ Homecoming festivities.
The remainder of the cleanup efforts at the site and any future “response actions” will be handled by EGLE going forward, according to the EPA.
