A chemical spill involving both hex and tri chrome by GKN Aerospace in St Louis has prompted a call for an investigation by a U.S. Senator.
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan requesting a briefing from the EPA on the June 27 chemical spill near St. Louis Lambert Airport and Coldwater Creek.
Reports say that GKN Aerospace — a major supplier to Boeing, Sikorsky, Bell Helicopters, and Lockheed Martin — released about 240 gallons of wastewater laced with hex and tri chrome from its treatment center.
GKN Aerospace notified the nearby Boeing plant of the leak, which tried to contain the wastewater before it went into Coldwater Creek; Boeing tried to divert the wastewater into a containment basin, but that basin overflowed, and a secondary area also failed to contain the wastewater.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources officials say the hexavalent chromium is unlikely to be a public health threat since individuals are not expected to have long-term exposure to affected water in the creek.
GKN Aerospace has not discussed the spill publicly; Boeing said in a statement to news media that the company “is committed to protecting human and environmental health in communities where we operate.”
Hawley asked Regan for a briefing on the spill and to answer the following questions:
- How much time elapsed between the EPA’s learning of this incident and the EPA’s notification to the public of any associated risks from this contamination?
- What, if any, remedial measures have GKN Aerospace and/or Boeing committed to the EPA that they will take in response to this incident?
- What, if any, health risks does this spill pose for the population of St. Louis, including those near Coldwater Creek?
“This incident will undoubtedly concern Missouri residents living in the vicinity of Coldwater Creek,” Hawley wrote in the letter. “Residents have expressed to my office that they were not notified of the spill and the facts surrounding it immediately.”
GKN Aerospace - St Louis specializes in advanced metallics technology for some of the world’s leading civil and military aircraft. GKN Aerospace acquired the site from Boeing almost 20 years ago, and was one of GKN Aerospace’s largest in North America with more than 800 employees, but the company announced it was closing the plant this year.
