Incident Response for a Transformer Spill at a Residential Apartment Complex
Weston & Sampson provided Incident Response to the Peabody Municipal Light Department for a spill from a transformer at a residential apartment complex. Following a fire, the remnants of a building were being demolished when an active transformer was ruptured, resulting in the release of 60-70 gallons of dielectric mineral oil. On of our Licensed Site Professionals (LSP) responded to the scene within 30 minutes of the client’s request.
As required by the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP), our LSP provided oral notification to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) within the mandated two hours. After verbal approval from DEP, Weston & Sampson undertook oversight of Immediate Response Actions (IRA), which included the excavation and off-site disposal of potentially impacted soil. IRA activities included :
- Pumping the remaining oil from the transformer to 55-gallon drums for off-site disposal/recycling
- Application of Speed-Dri to the concrete transformer pad
- Two rounds of soil excavation activities
- Two rounds of confirmatory sampling by DEP extractable petroleum hydrocarbon (EPH) methods
Following completion of Response Actions, Weston & Sampson prepared the MCP required IRA Completion and Response Action Outcome reports within 60 days to close out the site.