Carpet cleaners caught dumping chemicals

[MarkCermak]

Carpet Cleaners Caught Dumping Chemicals

Carpet cleaning employees were caught dumping gallons of chemicals out of their truck Wednesday morning, and now their employer may face penalties.

According to Hamilton County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Janice Atkinson, a deputy patrolling Rocky Ledge Road spotted a foaming liquid flowing toward Falling Water Creek in Hixson.

While investigating, deputies confirmed that Servpro of North Chattanooga workers had completed a carpet cleaning job on Rocky Ledge Road and illegally were draining the truck, Ms. Atkinson said.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation specialists were notified and responded to the scene.

Tisha Calabrese-Benton, a spokeswoman for the agency, said she wasn't able to speculate on the severity of the spill, but she said it constituted an "illicit discharge."

Ms. Calabrese-Benton said she didn't know if chemicals leaked into Falling Water Creek.

Dennis Allen, a production manager for Servpro locally, said a sewer line exists behind the company for the sole purpose of cleaner disposal, but workers sometimes pour used carpet cleaner chemicals into car wash drains and domestic toilets, which he said is within environmental regulations.

Attempts Wednesday evening to reach the Environmental Protection Agency were unsuccessful.

Mr. Allen said he wasn't sure how often workers pull off the side of the road to dump liquid waste.

"If you're 30 miles away, it can be kind of hard to drive back to the shop and do it," he said.

The company, at 3009 Wood Ave., is 12 miles from where the dumping took place Tuesday.

The employees will be given a warning for this particular incident, but a second infraction could get them fired from Servpro, Mr. Allen said.

The truck's tank holds up to 55 gallons of fluid, he said.

"They would have never gotten it all out if they were stopped in the middle," he said. "I can't be out with my guys all the time."

 

[The Great Oz]

Ouch! A classic example of how not to handle this kind of event.

...While investigating, deputies confirmed that Servpro of North Chattanooga workers had completed a carpet cleaning job on Rocky Ledge Road and illegally were draining the truck...

Dennis Allen, a production manager for Servpro locally, said a sewer line exists behind the company for the sole purpose of cleaner disposal, but workers sometimes pour used carpet cleaner chemicals into car wash drains and domestic toilets, which he said is within environmental regulations. Better response: Our policy is to dispose of wastewater according to regulations. We have a drainage area at our shop for that purpose.

Mr. Allen said he wasn't sure how often workers pull off the side of the road to dump liquid waste. Shows a lack of control, or even a lack of concern. Better response: It is violation our policies to dispose of dirty water anywhere except as approved by regulations.

"If you're 30 miles away, it can be kind of hard to drive back to the shop and do it The company is 12 miles from where the dumping took place. Making an excuse, which shows the company is actually OK with roadside dumping if convenient. Possible that this statement was taken out of context or edited from an explanation of why all dumping isn't done at the shop. Better response: If a crew runs out of capacity to hold dirty water to return to the shop, there are approved ways to dispose of that water. We'll remind our crews of those rules.

The employees will be given a warning for this particular incident, but a second infraction could get them fired from Servpro We don't want to fire good people for making a mistake, but we won't tolerate ignoring proper procedures.

"They would have never gotten it all out if they were stopped in the middle," he said. "I can't be out with my guys all the time." More excuses for why it isn't the supervisor's fault.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Stinkin' beautiful area around Chattanooga. It's 4 hours from me and sometimes Theresa and I go down there just to picnic and explore.

 

[Studebaker]

"illicit discharge."

That sounds bad

 

[amazingcleansc]

I've never dumped anywhere except a carwash. and my neighbors lawn. I hate that bastard.

 

[Bob Savage]

David,

If you hated him, you are actually doing him a favor for watering and fertilizing his lawn. ...lol

 

[Mr. 007]

So Glad BawB trained all my custys! They want the waste water in there lawns and Near their Flower Gardens! Grow Baby Grow! My Designated spot Is a bunch Of Wild Flowers (they suck up alot of water fast!) I shook some seeds around the side of the shop, They are already twice the size of all my other flowers. Fricken amazing stuff!

 

[tmdry]

and my neighbors lawn. I hate that bastard.

Now that's funny!

 

[Ron Werner]

I heard of a custy that got irate about a cleaner dumping on his lawn. It made that half of his lawn green :roll:

 

[MarkCermak]

Servpro owner says no 'chemicals' dumped

A local carpet cleaning company owner believes the media "miscategorized" his business after environmental officials caught two of his employees illegally dumping fluid onto a county street.

"My poor marketing reps are getting asked everywhere they go, having to clarify," said Steve Brown, co-owner of Servpro of North Chattanooga. "We did not dump chemicals. We dumped water that had a nontoxic solution in it."

On June 2, a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputy spotted two Servpro of North Chattanooga workers dumping an unknown liquid onto Rocky Ledge Road in Hixson.

Hamilton County Water Quality program officials found a diluted solution featuring a small amount of cleaning concentrate with "low toxicity (and) reactivity," a report states.

The ground absorbed 35 gallons of soapy fluid after it stopped flowing about 4,000 feet away from Falling Water Creek, which feeds into the county's water supply.

While the fluid never reached the creek, dumping the fluid -- whatever was in it, still is illegal, said Tom McDonald, Hamilton County water quality manager.

"We're not rushing anything simply because it didn't hit the creek," he said. "But it's illegal."

Still, Mr. Brown wasn't so sure about using the term "chemicals" as he discussed the incident. He said he sympathized with a fellow employee who could not identify the solution's main ingredients after the spill.

"Sometimes it's hard to say whether it's this or that," he said. "What I would have told you is it's a carpet-cleaning detergent or shampoo."

Servpro of North Chattanooga must submit an explanation for the incident and ways to prevent future spills to county water quality officials. A second offense could warrant a $1,000 fine, Mr. McDonald said.

Mr. Brown said the two workers were reprimanded, but he refused to elaborate. He said any future instances would lead to immediate termination.

"I have strived for 11 years to make sure we present an appearance of integrity," he said. "Our guys made a horrible error in judgment. We won't let this go to waste."

Citizens "haven't been afraid" to report illegal dumping incidents, according to Mr. McDonald. He said 35 spills were reported between September 2008 and September 2009, about a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

"People want their streams clean, so we're seeing more of these things being reported and investigated," Mr. McDonald said.

 

[rhino1]

Too late, the damage is done, all anyone will remember is the "illegal dumping of toxic chemicals."

 

[The Great Oz]

It is a good warning about careless dumping, since his plea for mercy shows his guys are getting some grief about it.

"My poor marketing reps are getting asked everywhere they go, having to clarify," said Steve Brown, co-owner of Servpro of North Chattanooga. "We did not dump chemicals. We dumped water that had a nontoxic solution in it."

What's that saying about when in a hole stop digging? The typical reader response to this statement would probably be a quick laugh. Kind of like a guy that wants his assault case dismissed with: "I hit the guy with the gun but he's lucky I didn't shoot him!"