Factory's toxic spill closes Huron River access

WIXOM, MI — The Huron River dodged a bullet.

Less than 20 pounds of chromium are estimated to have reached the Huron River from the toxic chemical spill into the city of Wixom’s wastewater treatment plant by Tribar Technologies, according to a report from state regulators released on Friday, Aug. 12.

That’s significantly less than the 4,170 pounds initially reported to the city in the immediate wake of the Tribar incident, where a now-former employee which Tribar says was not authorized to be working at the time repeatedly overrode waste treatment alarms for hours the night a 15,000 gallon plating tank was emptied into the city sewer system.

The new estimates follow widespread river water testing between Wixom and Ann Arbor which found only minimal detections of hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing industrial chemical that is dangerous to ingest, inhale or touch.

In response, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) lifted the ‘no contact’ advisory on Friday evening. The advisory was put in place Aug. 2.

The state says river testing for chromium and PFAS will continue weekly between Wixom and Ann Arbor to ensure protection for the city’s drinking water intake at Barton Pond.

“MDHHS is lifting its no-contact recommendation for the Huron River based on testing results we have received over the past week,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. “The collaboration between local and state officials illustrates the strong commitment our state has to the health and safety of Michigan families.”

River advocates were pleased with the news.

“I hope we can get back to fishing, boating and enjoying the Huron,” said Rebecca Esselman, director the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC.

“I feel a lot of relief, frankly,” Esselman said after reading the conclusions in the state’s report. “I was hopeful as we were seeing sampling results roll in that we had avoided the worst case scenario and it looks like that is the case.”

“It is a good outcome.”

In its report, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), said it was “confident” in lowering the chromium discharge estimate after two weeks of investigation at the Wixom sewage plant and Tribar’s Plant No. 5 on Alpha Drive.

The spill overwhelmed the Wixom wastewater plant which discharges to the river via Norton Creek, sparking a ‘no contact’ advisory the day after the spill was reported.

According to the report, Tribar’s waste treatment prior to the spill converted some hexavalent chromium in the plating tank to trivalent chromium, a variety which DHHS called a “micronutrient that is part of humans diet and is far less concerning from a health perspective.”

Additional conversion is believed to have occurred while the estimated 10,000 gallons of liquid was traveling through the Wixom sewer pipes over the course of five hours.

Granular activated carbon (GAC) discharge filters installed at the Tribar plant to capture PFAS chemicals also likely captured much of the escaping chromium, EGLE said.

About 275 pounds of chromium remain in the sewage plant.

“While the release of hexavalent chromium into the river system was much less than initially feared, any unauthorized discharge into a waterway is of concern,” said Jill Greenberg, EGLE spokeswoman. “EGLE continues its investigation to determine how and why this release occurred and establish a timeline of events.”

Tribar also submitted a required post-spill technical report to EGLE on Friday, in which its consultants reached similar conclusions.

“While it’s very disappointing the discharge occurred, the Tribar filtration system performed as it was designed, capturing nearly all the hexavalent chromium prior to release,” the company stated Friday. “Additionally, the quick action taken by the City of Wixom wastewater treatment operators helped contain any discharges to the Huron River system.”

Tribar pledged to make changes to its operations to ensure such an incident cannot be repeated. Earlier this week, the company said its automated controls at plant were functioning normally while the factory while shut down for the weekend, and that the employee who caused the release was not authorized to be on-site after hours.

That employee quit on Monday, Aug. 1.

The Friday reports follow weeks of outrage and anger over the chemical spill, which remains under investigation by the state’s criminal environmental services division.

Scenes from the Huron River spill press conference at Heavner Canoe Rental on August 10, 2022.Ryan Sun | rsun@mlive.com

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also sought information about the spill from the state and the company, although the extent of the bureau’s interest is not known.

Tribar also faces an “accelerated enforcement” process from EGLE that will involve administrative consent negotiations and attempts to recover state response costs.

Activists with environmental groups rallied in Milford on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at a peaceful protest involving Democratic state legislators, who called for Tribar to be shut down and advocated for stronger environmental protection laws.

A different group visited Tribar CEO Kevin Cramton’s house in Northville on Friday morning and staged a demonstration which drew police who say vehicles at the home were damaged.

Esselman noted that, while the impact on the river was less than initial estimates, the city of Wixom now has a large amount of chromium waste to dispose of.

That cost should not be borne by taxpayers, she said.

“This is where the discourse on polluter pay laws in the state of Michigan should continue and advance,” Esselman said. “Those costs should be borne by Tribar in this case.”

“Just because there was a limited amount of chromium that made it to the Huron River system in this case, there were still great costs from this event,” including “weeks of lost business because of the river closure” in communities like Milford.”

“There continues to be a need for accountability with Tribar.”

Police investigate protest at Tribar CEOs home

Outraged rally crowd demands Tribar be ‘shut down’

Tribar waste alarms overriden 460 times before spill

Dingell seeks greater EPA hand in Huron River spill

EGLE finds low hexchrome in river testing

Tests encouraging, but worry and anger remain

Hexchrome could take weeks to reach Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor council OK’s legal action toward Tribar

Wixom police investigate Tribar hexchrome spill

Non-contact with Huron River urged after spill

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