ITHACA, N.Y. — A leaking gas cylinder at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility prompted a response from the Ithaca Fire Department (IFD) hazmat team on Saturday.
In a statement, facility officials said “no one was injured and the public was never in danger.”
The roughly 4 foot tall cylinder contained sulfur dioxide gas and was leaking due to a “manufacturing defect” on the valve used to control the flow of gas, according to a joint statement from Scott Gibson, the City of Ithaca’s Assistant Superintendent of Water Sewer, and Ed Gottlieb, the wastewater treatment facility’s safety manager.
Sulfur dioxide gas is not flammable, but can be toxic if directly inhaled in large quantities. It is known for smelling like rotting eggs. The plant uses the gas to remove chlorine from wastewater before it is released back into Cayuga Lake.
In a separate comment, Gibson called the hazmat incident routine.
“Minor spills and chemical releases happen all the time in the industry which is why our folks are trained to handle directly or report them to IFD,” Gibson said.
Gibson and Gottlieb said a plant operator noticed one of the spare tanks was leaking at about 9 a.m. and notified IFD in accordance with their safety training.
The Ithaca Fire Department responded to the incident at about 9:30am on Saturday, according to IFD Assistant Fire Chief Jim Wheal.
Wheal said in an email the chemical release was small, but still hazardous. He said the fire department sealed the leaky valve and ventilated the area to disperse the gas.
“The affected area was small and well within the fenced area around the plant. At no point was there danger to the public,” Wheal said. “Nobody was injured in the release and our operating time there was about two hours.”
Gibson and Gottlieb said the faulty tank will be removed by the vendor.
Update (04/30/2024): This story was updated to include an additional comment from Scott Gibson, the City of Ithaca’s Assistant Superintendent of Water Sewer, after publication.