Valley Independent Sentinel

Who Put Motor Oil In The Chlorine Container?

by Joseph Cole | Mar 3, 2010 1:53 pm

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Posted to: Seymour

Used motor oil.

That was the “oil-based liquid” accidentally dumped into the Seymour High School swimming pool in December, causing some $30,000 in damages.

The oil was in a 15-gallon drum, marked “Scott Shock” chlorine.

That was the account school officials gave Tuesday to the Seymour Board of Selectmen.

In January, school officials said maintenance personnel had accidentally poured the motor oil into the pool, thinking it was chlorine.

Based on public discussion Tuesday, no one seems to know exactly where the motor oil came from or why it was there. A second oil drum was found after inspection. School officials were hesitant Tuesday to speculate on exactly who put the oil there.

Previously they had suspected a retired school maintenance department employee, but now they are reluctant to attach a name to their suspicions.

A copy of the school district’s report on the incident is posted at the end of this article.

John Conroy, Jr., a member of the Board of Selectmen, said school officials were being defensive in their explanation of what happened to the pool — and he, like everyone, was surprised by the revelation.

“I’m as shocked as anybody that this was motor oil,” Conroy said.

“Someone made a conscious effort to bring that oil there,” said Kurt Miller, another member of the Board of Selectmen.

Schools Superintendent Maryanne Mascolo appeared before the Selectmen with Richard Belden, assistant superintendent of finance and operations; Wayne Natzel, director of facilities; and Ed Strumello, chairman of the Board of Education.

Though the cleanup is long completed — the pool reopened Jan. 21 — some members of the Board of Selectmen complained about a lack of communication between town and school officials.

Most of the Selectmen were unaware of the situation until they read about it in the Valley Independent Sentinel.

Selectman Annmarie Drugonis said she took issue with the failure of school officials to promptly notify First Selectman Paul Roy. However, she had no problem with the management of the clean-up.

How the incident came to pass in the first place left her less than pleased.

“I’m just worried that a mislabeled drum could cost the town a ton of money,” Drugonis said.

It was also revealed Tuesday that the pool did not have a “discharge permit” from the state Department of Environmental Protection. Officials are now worried the town may be fined for not having the permit.

Drugonis questioned Natzel about the permit problem and on OSHA regulations and procedures, asking why he had not kept up with yearly “hazardous communications” training.

Natzel said he was unaware of the permit and that his understanding of the OSHA regulations did not require yearly training. District employees received the OSHA training in 2004.

“You and I have a disagreement there,” he said to Drugonis, referring to her assertion that yearly training is required.

Natzel and Mascolo opted not to speak more directly on matters of training and OSHA requirements.

Outside the meeting room, Strumello said the Board of Education wouldn’t respond to a line of questioning that attacked one person’s credentials without fully examining those of the one doing the interrogation — in this case, Drugonis, who holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental management and works as an environmental compliance manager for Clean Harbors.

“This was just human error, plain and simple,” Mascolo said about the incident.

Natzel said no one can be certain how long the two oil-filled drums were there — but they could have been sitting around for a “very very long time.” As many as 15 drums of chlorine are in storage at any given time. After a thorough search, Natzel doesn’t expect anymore chemical surprises.

“I’m very confident we got whatever was in there, out of there,” he said.

Seymour Pool Report

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