tylersusername t1_je0mmmb wrote
Environmental chemist in the city here that is very familiar with this situation. This water was not any sort of waste from the accident. It was rainwater and stream water collected from areas around the cleanup site. All the water in these tanks has been described by individuals involved as āborderline drinkable.ā Weāre not talking about tanks of green glowing sludge here. Testing did find trace amounts of vinyl chloride still in the water, so obviously the EPA wants some additional treatment on it before it can be dumped anywhere. Clean Harbors Baltimore is one of few facilities in the country that couldāve taken this water and easily and routinely treated it. They are treating thousands of gallons of wastewater and discharging it into the sewer every day, and that discharge is constantly monitored for compliance by the plantās internal lab with verification from a third-party labās analysis, and the city samples and monitors the discharge as well. This project wouldāve created no additional strain on the Back River treatment plant. This couldāve been an easy opportunity for local representatives to praise a unique capability the city possesses to help the nation clean up from an environmental tragedy. But instead our representatives are spreading false information and making decisions based on fear of a situation they donāt know anything about and twisting the narrative themselves to make the city look worse, making it look like the EPA chose the Baltimore sewer to become a national toxic waste dump or something. Itās so disappointing to see all this play out like this.
BirdPeckOfPower t1_je0rjsn wrote
But now our elected officials get to say they stopped the nasty toxic water that would've caused all of the river fish to turn into the three-eyed fish from The Simpsons.
Everyone got all worked up over what should've been no big deal. Fear and misinformation is really powerful in the media, sadly.
bmoreurbancamper t1_je1b7nc wrote
I believe the fishās name was Blinky!
[deleted] t1_je1b8fm wrote
[removed]
mutmad t1_je0yov7 wrote
Thank you for sharing an informed perspective and shining some light on this.
Honoratoo t1_je2ky0z wrote
Why is Clean Harbors Baltimore one of the few facilities in the country that could treat the water? It is a big country and you say the water is borderline drinkable. Seems like there would be lots of places, perhaps in Ohio, that could treat the water.
tylersusername t1_je2u5ej wrote
They have a system that can extract organic contaminants from water more efficiently and cheaply than other methods. Sure other methods exist, even incineration is a viable option to get rid of this waste, but like us now, everyone is playing chicken about taking it.
call_me_ping t1_je24jnt wrote
Thank you for sharing this information. As someone that's lived in Baltimore for nearly a decade, but grew up in Ohio and still jokes about its funky green water (summers at lake erie swimming in algae haha), this information is really appreciated.
Based on what you shared, the opportunity could have helped both states, but my heart also wishes Ohio would get more of its sh*t together on its own, too! :/
sxswnxnw t1_je0uieb wrote
It has been really interesting to watch this play out. It's kinda like banning Tiktok while Facebook/Meta and Google/Alphabet chug along doing the absolute most. Hysteria from a foreign invader/scapegoat. š¤·šæāāļø
Alaira314 t1_je11q5q wrote
I think that's a bit of a paranoid reading. It lands closer to a classic NIMBY situation, to me. There's no real fear of Ohioans at play, more so a desperate clutching to preserve what belongs to "us". They just want someone else to be the ones to deal with the situation.
sxswnxnw t1_je1q6pj wrote
š„“ Um... It's much less paranoid than what has actually occurred in the last several days over water treatment that folks apparently do not actually understand, but ok.
I didn't even say people feared Ohioans... It's clear people feared the water and the process of treating it.
aoife_too t1_je2wsfy wrote
Idk what the above commenter is talking about, but I totally agree with you. The tiktok vs meta/google/etc is a really good analogy.
Silly_War_4146 t1_je2hk3z wrote
If itās so safe why donāt the just dump it in Ohio????????
tylersusername t1_je2xmqk wrote
If we know thereās contaminant in it, I think thereās an obligation to treat it, regardless of how āsafeā we can deem it to be. I called it what I did to emphasize the ease and low risk of treating it, not to advocate that itās safe to be just dumped anywhere. But if no state wants it even treated within their borders, obviously none of them are gonna volunteer to just straight up dump it.
JiffKewneye-n t1_je0tgxz wrote
i was telling someone this yesterday.....they probably had things set up from the get go for all the crap from sparrows point...
EthanSayfo t1_je0qhq4 wrote
675 THOUSAND gallons in the very first round, to get handed off to a treatment facility that has earned zero trust from the community?
Yeah, no.
Get your house in order, donāt have random explosions in the past two weeks, then weāll talk.
I have no faith that Back River is in a position to properly evaluate the ātreatedā waste water from a major environmental spill, before putting it back into the system. The trust has to be earned.
BirdPeckOfPower t1_je0rzks wrote
If you read up about the situation, you would've saw that Clean Harbors' Facility would've processed it all. They are on the Back River Water Treatment Facility's property, but they are independent of the Back River Water Facility and their equipment. This is exactly the kind of work they specialize in.
tylersusername t1_je0tgh0 wrote
The Clean Harbors Baltimore plant is not on the property. Itās on the other side of the city. They just receive wastewater by truck or rail, treat it, and discharge the cleaned water into the sewer. It just ultimately ends up at Back River just like all city sewage does.
branchymolecule t1_je1ih9n wrote
Why wouldnāt bother to learn anything before rattling off my opinion?
EthanSayfo t1_je0sbky wrote
The same Back River that had a random explosion a few weeks back? Theyāre collocated on that property? Which we should have total faith in?
I donāt think so. And clearly, neither does the bulk of the local community.
JiffKewneye-n t1_je0tvtq wrote
proud ignorance. impressive.
EthanSayfo t1_je0wc8u wrote
So they didnāt have a random explosion a few weeks back at the facility, and havenāt had a string of problems?
Proud ignorance, indeed.
ocaesar t1_je111pd wrote
Itās not the same facility as the one that had the explosion. Really not that difficult.
Matt3989 t1_je12feh wrote
And the explosion was also not related to DPW. It was in a building rented by Synagro, related to Synagro's conversion process.
I've already commented that to this person in another thread, they are just hell bent on creating their own narrative.
Matt3989 t1_je0z4mp wrote
I've already addressed your comments in the other thread, you didn't respond.
You're clearly not interested in the facts, just your own narrative.
EthanSayfo t1_je0zl80 wrote
Iām going to rest satisfied in knowing that those who kowtow to corporate interests and make excuses for facilities with abysmal track records didnāt get their way this time.
Matt3989 t1_je104li wrote
More like kowtowing to the ignorant masses.
EthanSayfo t1_je15j43 wrote
That statement definitely gives away your general perspective, thatās for sure.
lordderplythethird t1_je1qnf7 wrote
They're giving you actual facts, and you're just throwing a mindless temper tantrum, ignoring reality itself, because you can't muster the integrity to simply say "I was wrong". Absolutely fucking pathetic
EthanSayfo t1_je1s2r6 wrote
Oh, you changed my mind! Iām calling the Mayorās office to tell them to take in the toxic water now. Thank a million for shifting my perspective!
ocaesar t1_je10xwx wrote
Holy hell, I agree with you but you really are missing the point. The water would have been treated at a separate facility operated by a separate entity. That facility just happens to be on the same property as the abysmally run treatment plant.
EthanSayfo t1_je15vx0 wrote
Iām not missing the point, you are. The community has no reason to trust that Back River is even in a position to competently evaluate and deal with the treated water they receive from Clean Harbors. Period. We need to be able to trust the public authority to do their part of the job. Do I think Clean Harbors should be trusted without any additional, trustworthy verifications being done by authorities beholden to the public? No. And neither do the many people who objected to this.
rhymes_with_pail t1_je111m9 wrote
That is half the amount of water in the Dolphin tank at the National Aquarium. But sure use your capital letters.
rmphys t1_je27ud4 wrote
That's 2.5 TRILLION milliliters! (Serious, that dude's emphasis on the number is dumb, you can make it any number with a simple change of unit)
theallen247 t1_je3ae30 wrote
šš Back River treatment plant is cutting edge, mistakes are always made,but your living in a place with the cleanest drinking water in the World, everytime you drink a cup water out of the tap your "Trusting" the system, so spoiled
tylersusername t1_je4jpbe wrote
Hereās a statement from the Office of Governor Moore corroborating my thoughts. I found it here from WMAR Baltimore
"The safety of Marylanders is the governorās highest priority. The water from East Palestine being treated by Clean Harbors is not at levels that would be considered hazardous waste but out of an abundance of caution, the state is treating it as such to ensure our communities are safe. Clean Harbors is a world class facility in Baltimore, and they are well-equipped to handle this project. The administration will continue to work with the federal government to ensure we have the resources and manpower needed to handle treatment in a secure manner."
israeljeff t1_je2bkip wrote
This whole thing makes us look like morons. I'm disappointed that our politicians chose to score some brownie points this way. Thanks for the insight for anyone that hasn't had this explained to them already.
thegree2112 t1_je4dx1c wrote
yeah really. thanks for the insights. seems all the more common in this misinformation era.
Southern-Score2223 t1_je3ckqt wrote
Where were you the last few days to explain this?
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