FLAT ROCK (WWJ) Ford has said one of its plants is the "likely source" for the pungent gasoline odor in Flat Rock that forced the evacuation of more than a dozen homes and at least one school.
The automaker confirmed Friday that the fuel leak stemmed from the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, in the area of I-75 and Vreeland Rd.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) said benzene vapors and an estimated 1,000 to 3,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline spilled into the city’s sewers. The odor investigation took place in the southeast part of the city, south of Gibraltar Rd.
Residents first reported the mysterious smell, particularly in their basements, early Wednesday morning. A pumphouse alarm then went off. The Fire Department and Department of Public Works went door to door in an attempt to determine the source of the smell. Even the Environmental Protection Agency showed up.
It also triggered a State of Emergency.
“We take our responsibilities as a corporate citizen and to protect the environment seriously,” Ford said in a statement. “We’ve been working with city, state and federal agencies over the last several days to understand and address the issue in Flat Rock.”
Ford said it realized on Friday that the “scale of the fuel leak was much larger” than initially believed—and its plant was "likely" responsible.
“…We apologize,” the company said. “We’re urgently addressing the matter; there’s more we need to know in order to confidently develop and implement a corrective plan.”
The plant will remain closed through Labor Day, as the company works to separate its wastewater from the city’s sewer system; Ford said.
On Saturday evening, HAZMAT technicians are slated to inject fire suppressant foam into the city sewer in an attempt to suppress the flammable vapors. They will do so in a four-mile perimeter south of Vreeland Rd., east of Cahill Road, north of Woodruff and west of I-75. The exact time was not given.
EGLE said the substance does not contain PFAS. It’s designed to bond with gasolines to help break down organic compounds.
Three additional homes were evacuated on Friday, in addition to the ten others earlier in the week.
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See Ford’s full statement, written by Bob Holycross; Vice President, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering; below:
“We take our responsibilities as a corporate citizen and to protect the environment seriously. We’ve been working with city, state and federal agencies over the last several days to understand and address the issue in Flat Rock.
Wednesday afternoon, we discovered what originally looked to be a relatively small leak in a pipe that carries gasoline used to fuel vehicles built at the plant. We shut down the fuel pipe, called in experts to remove gas from a containment tank and the primary storage tank, and notified officials of what we found. We believed then that the leak was contained to our property.
With support from outside experts, we continued to investigate. Today, we determined that the scale of the fuel leak was much larger, and that Ford is the likely source of the problem in Flat Rock, for which we apologize. We’re urgently addressing the matter; there’s more we need to know in order to confidently develop and implement a corrective plan. In the meantime, as planned, the plant will be closed through the Labor Day weekend. As a precaution, we’re in the process of isolating wastewater on our property from the city’s system. Ford is assisting government officials as cleanup work begins in the community.
With officials, we’re also identifying people whose lives have been disrupted by this and are committed to helping those neighbors as we work through this problem.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available.”