Some 7,200 gallons of concentrated Mountain Dew syrup created a "huge foaming event" and generated environmental concerns after it went down the drain, literally, at the Pepsi bottling plant on Mason Road in Howell last month.But no need to worry that Michigan fish will suffer any ADHD from the spill.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was at the plant on several occasions after a tank ruptured and sent the syrup through a floor drain and into the plant's internal sewer system on March 10, said DEQ Senior Environmental Quality Analyst Carla Davidson.
"A spill of this magnitude is highly unusual,” Davidson said, noting the high-sugar syrup can have a toxic effect on aquatic life if it ends up in rivers, lakes or streams.
Most of the spilled 56,000 gallons flowed into the on-site storm water detention basin, where it was contained, Davidson said, while a small amount went into a ditch behind Key Plastics, where an earthen dam was constructed to contain it.I wonder if it would contribute to the problem of intersex in fish:
Pepsi also brought in an environmental contractor, and Davidson said when she visited the following Friday, it was evident the soil had been scraped and the area cleaned up.
“As far as impact to the environment, I think Pepsi is cleaning it up, and we’ll be working with them to prevent discharges like this from happening in the future,” Davidson said. “There was not a release to surface water that we know of, so that’s also a positive.”
“They told us a syrup tank ruptured, so one question we will be asking is ‘Why did this happen?’ We want to make sure the other tanks have good structural integrity, and any maintenance needed is done.”
Wombat-socho finally gets around to the long awaited "Rule Five Wednesday: Double-Dip Easter Edition."
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