Spray wash - Some residences in Holley were power washed to remove any residue from a January 5 accidental release of chemicals from the Diaz Chemical Corp. The company paid for the clean up, and for lodging for homeowners who chose not to stay in their residences after the material, a mix of water, 2-chloro-6 fluorophenol and toluene, leaked into the air. The substance is not listed as a poison nor is it highly toxic, according to company officials, but it can cause eye and skin irritation. It is used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Two workers are shown spraying a house on Jackson Street, east of the company headquarters. Photograph for Westside News Inc. by Walter Horylev.

The smell from the January 5 Diaz chemical release still hung in the air as residents filled the village hall for the January 8 board meeting.

About 80 gallons of chemicals were released into the air, and according to some of the residents, into their homes. The chemicals released were a mixture of phenolics with toluene and water. One of the compounds, 2-chloro-6 fluoro phenol, is a chemical so new to the market that neither Diaz nor Department of Environmental Conservation officials are able to determine what short or long term effect it could have on public health. Diaz manufactures chemicals for use in pharmaceuticals and is located in Holley village.

Andrew Saul, a resident and a chemistry teacher, presented fact sheets to meeting attendees that explained the health ramifications of exposure to toluene. Toluene, he said, dissolves fats and oils in the skin to produce drying and cracking. The fact sheet states individuals are to avoid breathing or touching the material and further recommends wearing respirators with activated charcoal filters.

Saul asked the board to consider requiring Diaz to supply each resident with respirators; conduct a village-wide clean up; make Diaz build an access road to its plant so it is not hauling toxic compounds down village streets.

Residents questioned the lack of warning from fire and police officials, the absence of notification to the residents that chemicals had been released and the failure to evacuate residents.

"We didn't evacuate because it is winter, it was late at night, and people were indoors with their windows and doors closed," Mayor Lewis Passarell said.

Paul Wagner, director of Emergency Management for Orleans County, said statements and information received from Diaz and the DEC indicated it was best for residents to remain sheltered as they were. "It's easy to look at it and Monday morning quarterback it but as a committee, we made a decision we deemed was best," he said.

Village attorney John Sansone said DEC officials have collected soil and air samples for testing. "The village police and fire department responded to this matter perfectly," he said. "Their response shows how well prepared we are for the release of a chemical we know nothing about."
Passarell said he is concerned that New York state would allow a chemical to be manufactured that they know nothing about.

Roxann Hinkley said the choice to evacuate or stay should have been given to the residents. "We are adults and we could have made the decision on our own," she said. "We didn't need you to make it for us." She also said, had she known what was occurring in the village, she would have warned her children, who were returning from Buffalo to have stayed away. "Because no one told us anything, my kids drove right into it and walked around in it once they came home."

Fire Chief Jeff Lavender reiterated that the information they received was that it was best to keep the residents inside their homes rather than having them come outside and be exposed to the chemicals that were in the air.

Diaz officials offered to pay for lodging for residents who evacuated their homes. They had also pledged to clean up the homes and vehicles that were contaminated with residue from the chemical release.

Passarell said the clean up efforts are coordinated and regulated by the DEC and they are the ones who said the clean up could begin January 8.

For company information: www.diazchem.com