PORT ANGELES — An ammonia leak from a tank at McKinley Paper mill was isolated in a containment area and did not drain into water or the environment, said Capt. Kelly Ziegler of the Port Angeles Fire Department.
Firefighters were called out to the leak from a 16,000 gallon tank filled with a 15 percent concentration of aqueous ammonia at the mill at 1850 W. Marine Drive at 7:42 p.m. Thursday, Ziegler said in a press release.
Crews isolated the area and controlled traffic on Marine Drive. Ziegler said. Mill safety personnel used monitoring equipment to establish an isolation zone and confirmed the spill was not released from a containment area, he said.
No one was hurt.
The amount spilled as well as the cause of the spill remained undetermined as of Friday morning.
The fire department, along with mill personnel and under the direction of the state Department of Ecology, developed a mitigation plan, Ziegler said.
“The safety equipment in place at the mill prevented any threat to the public or the environment,” he said adding that although the amount of the spill was unknown at this time, “it was within the capabilities of McKinley Paper to remove safely.”
The fire department responded with one engine, two ambulances and one chief officer totaling 11 personnel.
Port Angeles Police Department responded with one officer for traffic control and Port Angeles Street department responded with one, also for traffic control.
