USA: Ravena plant investigated for slurry spillage

Officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration investigated a spill Tuesday at the Lafarge cement plant on Route 9W of liquid slurry used in the production of cement, according to local press.

The spill happened Tuesday morning, said Robin DeCarlo, head of corporate communications for LafargeHolcim in the US. She said the spill took place from a tank where slurry is pumped to nearby high-temperature rotary kilns for processing into cement.

Initial reports indicated the spill reached the nearby Coeymans Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, but DeCarlo could not confirm or deny that. She said the spill was "small," but could not provide any estimate of the amount.

DEC official Jomo Miller said most of the spill was contained in a network of catch basins and settling ponds. The spill occurred about 7:30 am and involved about 100,000 gallons of slurry, some of which did reach the creek, according to DEC. The spill was not expected to environmentally damage the creek.

In 2015, the company was fined twice by the state in less than a year for polluting the creek with waste from the plant landfill, which is used to store cement kiln dust, a fine-grained, solid, highly alkaline waste removed from kiln exhaust gas by pollution control devices. The fines totalled $159,000 said Tmes Union.