In the wake of explosions at a hazardous/toxic waste handler’s building in an industrial park off Route 9H in West Ghent, Columbia County emergency management officials have issued this alert:
A mutual aid fire at TCI of NY, a transformer recycling company off of Route 9H on Falls Industrial Park Road in West Ghent has resulted in a State of Emergency for the immediate area being declared by Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Patrick Grattan. Multiple fire companies, rescue squads, and various county and state agencies are on scene. The area, Route 9H and surrounding roadways around TCI are closed to the public. People who reside in the area are asked to remain in their homes. If they feel they must leave their homes due to smoke a shelter has been established at the Chatham Fire House at 3 Hoffman Street Chatham, NY. If anyone requires emergency assistance please call 911. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Columbia County 911 is circulating the above map on Facebook, urging people in the red area to turn off air conditioning units and avoid outdoor air if at all possible:
Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that anyone with a 15 mile radius of the incident (Route 9H/Falls Rd, Ghent) limit outdoor activity... remain indoors. State Health Department officials are conducting air quality tests in the vicinity of the fire. Out of an abundance of caution, please remain indoors and limit outside activity. Anyone experiencing eye irritation, difficulty breathing or cough should seek medical attention. For additional information, contact the Columbia County Health Department at 518-828-3358 ext. 1293.
Note that the above map has been described as depicting at “15-mile radius,” but in fact it appears to show a 15-mile diameter. Columbia County is only about 18 miles wide at the middle, from Hudson to the Berkshire line, as the crow flies. Hudson is under 7 miles from the TCI site.
On Facebook, reports are coming in that Berkshire and Rensselaer county residents got reverse 911 and/or robocalls alerting them to the event. It is not clear that similar notification occurred in Columbia County.
A half-mile radius near the facility, located off Route 9H in Ghent near the Toyota dealer and First Fuel, is reportedly being mandatorily evacuated. As noted above, a smoke recovery center has been set up at the Chatham firehouse. Fire companies from Claverack, Ghent, Stockport, Stottville, and Stuyvesant Falls responded, with requests to other units (e.g. Livingston and Niverville) going out all night.
Albany television stations reported a chemical hazard alert early this morning after neighboring Rensselaer County emergency management officials issued their own alert:
The Rensselaer County Executive has announced that due to an Emergency condition at TCI, Inc., 39 Falls Industrial Park Rd, Ghent, NY, Columbia County, all persons living or working in the Towns of Nassau, Schodack, and Stephentown, should shelter within[g], close all windows, shut off all air conditioning units, and devices that draw in outside air. Residents should be prepared to shelter within for the next 12 hours, and are advised to spend as little time, if any, in the outside environment as possible. This measure is a precautionary measure for your protection. Residents are instructed to NOT dial 9-1-1, unless you have an emergency. For further information, you may contact 266-7684 or 266-7686. As additional information becomes available, it will be provided.
YNN has a video depicting a massive plume arising from the site this morning, and an interview with Bill Black, the County’s emergency management director. Black indicates that last night the plume was about “2 miles long.” The NYS DEC and US EPA are conducting residue and air quality tests, with early results expected in “early afternoon.”
A road closure notice has also been posted, as passed along by Virginia Martin:
Issued By: NYS - DOT
Jurisdictions: Columbia County
Headline: RD CLOSURE: N/S State Hwy 9H between Rabbit Ln & CR 22 (Stockport Rd) closed at 7:20am due to a structure fire for 8 hrs - T/Hudson - Columbia Co
Description: N/S State Hwy 9H between Rabbit Ln & CR 22 (Stockport Rd) closed at 7:20am due to a structure fire for 8 hrs - T/Hudson - Columbia Co
Instructions: Use alternate route.
The waste handler, a company called TCI, had a smaller fire last January. According to the company’s website, TCI claims to provide:
environmentally safe disposal of oil filled and drained electrical equipment, <50ppm PCBs, 50-499ppm PCBs as well as >500ppm PCBs.
In addition to handling PCB wastes, the company lists the following waste items which it accepts: “transformers, regulators, padmounts, switches, breakers, bushings, capacitors, ballasts and bulbs, debris, drummed oil, PILC cable, etc.”
The site claims that its facilities “were built with the latest safeguards, such as triple-spill containment systems which include 40 ml or 60 ml high density polyethylene liners beneath the concrete floors, special chemical-proof epoxy floor coating and steel floor plating in high contact areas to assure there will be no absorption of PCBs into exposed concrete in the event of a spill.” Such measures, however, appear intended to protect against spills, not the risk of fire.
The company further notes that it “maintains eleven million dollars of pollution liability insurance to protect both TCI and it's customers.”
TCI of NY, LLC is registered with New York State as a Foreign Limited Liability Company, with a Delaware jurisdiction. Its registered agent is something called CT Corporation System, which has offices at 111 Eighth Avenue in New York City but seems to be based in Georgia. (That may just be a legal service for incorporating LLCs.)
