Diaz spill effects linger in Holley

More than one year has passed since the January 5, 2002 chemical spill at Diaz in the village of Holley. On that night more than 80 gallons of chemicals were released into the air following the malfunction of a release valve. The chemical was a mixture of phenolics with toluene and water. Homeowners could smell the fumes seeping into their homes but many were unaware of the cause until they either heard from a neighbor the following morning or saw on the news that there had been a problem at the Diaz plant.

Following many meetings and several clean-up efforts of the homes and the properties surrounding the spill, there are still residents who are displaced. Some still reside in the hotel in which they were placed following the spill. The residents’ stays in the hotel were paid for, at first by Diaz, and now by the federal government.

Mayor Dan Schiavone said the Environmental Protection Agency is going to initiate further clean up of those homes affected by the spill. "There will be interior clean up and painting and exterior clean up of soils," he said. "The good news is that the residents won’t have to pay for the clean up."

According to department of health officials at the time of the spill, the short term health effects appeared to be sore throats, headaches and skin irritation. The long term effects are still not known as the chemicals that were released into the air hadn’t been fully tested.

Schiavone said the village has asked its attorney to pursue action against Diaz for discharging higher than allowable levels of chemicals into the wastewater. The actions, he said, could include fines or litigation. "We’ll be discussing those violations at the next board meeting," he said.

"There are still a couple of things we are waiting on," he said. "There was an evaluation of the Diaz facility and its operations and we haven’t heard anything back on that yet and I know the attorney general and residents have filed litigation against the company.