Dangerous gas left to vent in Fort Hall
According to a Shoshone-Bannock Tribal representative, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had failed to notice drums of Phosphine gas left open at the no longer existing FMC plant site.
The drums were reportedly left open for an unknown number of days.
An EPA staff from Seattle made a visit in Fort Hall on March 16 to inspect work at the site. The staff inspected storage of over a hundred 55-gallon drums filled with hazardous waste waiting to be shipped off the site for incineration.
The next day tribal representatives found drums left open containing the Phosphine gas, releasing into the air within reservation boundaries.Tribes requested drum closure and air analysis from the EPA.
According to test results from the EPA, Phosphine gas readings at the drums after venting were well over the Permissible Exposure Limit of 0.3 parts per million (ppm). The gas readings ranged from 0.37 ppm to over 2.0 ppm.
Workers at the site indicated they had been instructed to open the drums to prevent bulging as a result of gas generation from drum waste.
The EPA has been reached for comment Friday, they have yet to respond.
According to EPA’s Air Toxics website, Phoshine gas is a colorless gas, flammable, and toxic. It’s known to smell of garlic or decaying fish, and can ignite spontaneously on contact with air. Inhalation is the common route of possible chronic effects. Symptoms may include headache, vomiting, dizziness, burning substernal pain and more in humans.
