Hazmat Spill at Kansas Plant Threatens Local Water Supply

Hazmat crews blocked a spill Monday at a Goodyear plant in Topeka, Kansas, that threatened to pollute the Kansas River by way of a nearby creek, local media report.

Shortly before noon a broken water pipe flooded the plant’s basement, allowing nearly 50 gallons of hydraulic oil to spill from an oil-water separator and flow into a floor drain leading to Soldier Creek, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports.

Hazardous materials personnel, working into the evening, used absorbent booms and vacuum trucks to capture oil on the creek surface. Simultaneously, workers blocked the tributary near Highway 24 to prevent uncaptured oil from reaching the river.

The Kansas River serves as a water source for several communities downstream. KDHE reports that no oil reached the river.