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Workers Waiting For Pressure To Drop Before Plugging Leak

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By Keith Morelli and Mike Wells of The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2007

Updated: 11/13/2007 10:39 pm

Video: Ammonia Leak Is Suspicous | Schools Closed

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Ammonia - Emergency Preparedness & Response

TAMPA – A damaged ammonia pipeleine has been capped but the leak continues and there has been no drop in pressure to allow for repair of the pipe according to the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center.

Riverview Elementary School will remain closed Wednesday, but parents with day care concerns can send their child to Spoto High School according to a Hillsborough County School Board press release.

The Center Academy and Children's First Academy are both going to be closed according to the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center.

The chemical is escaping from the pipe at a pressure of 20 pounds per square inch, officials said. It had measured as high as 180 pounds per square inch earlier in the day.

Workers will wait until the pressure reaches zero to patch the leak, Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bruce Delk said.

"The mantra we've been working on is go slow, go safe," said Willie Puz, a spokesman for Hillsborough County.

Overnight, emergency personnel used reverse 911 calls and went door to door telling nearby residents to evacuate.

The leak started with an apparent "treasure hunt" by a trio of teenage boys, and has cost the county plenty, authorities say.

The environmental impact of the leak remains uncertain.

"We have not seen fish kills, which is a good thing," said Ben Franco, on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Officials plan to provide another update at about 10 p.m.

The leak started when a 16-year-old boy drilled into the pipeline. He told investigators he was looking for money he believed was hidden in the area.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is pursuing felony charges against the boy, and additional charges are possible against his two friends, Lt. Kyle Cockream said.

At the 5:30 press conference, Lt. Darryl Wagner said a likely charge is felony criminal mischief. Investigators did not release any further details about the boy because of his age.

The deadly ammonia cloud that forced 300 residents to flee last night was almost contained today, but residents and business operators are restricted from returning to the half-mile area just west of U.S. 301 and south of Riverview Drive.

The leak began as a liquid ammonia spray and has dwindled to a vapor leak, but the danger isn't over, authorities say.

The repair process is under way but it might last until 10 p.m. tonight. Any decision to allow residents to return to their homes won't be made until then. Some residents were allowed back under escort to retrieve pets and medications.

Riverview Elementary School and two private schools within a quarter-mile radius of theleak were closed, and traffic continues to be diverted from U.S. 301, which has been shut down at the bridge over the Alafia River, the leak site.

The underground pipe is exposed when it crosses the river, traveling under the walkway of the bridge and then straight down into the south bank, Cockream said.

About 5:30 p.m. Monday, two 16-year-old boys and a 14-year-old boy went to where the pipe enters the ground looking for money that one of the older teens heard was hidden in or around the pipe under the bridge, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

One of the 16-year-olds had been to the location alone Sunday and tried to drill into the pipe but was unsuccessful, Carter said. He returned Monday with his friends to continue searching.

The teen, whose name was not released, was severely burned over 18 percent of his body when he tapped into the 6-inch-diameter pipeline, she said.

He went home and told a parent what had happened, she said. He was then rushed to Tampa General Hospital with chemical burns.

That's when Hillsborough County Fire Rescue first learned of the leak, just before 7 p.m. Monday, said division chief Craig Lynn of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

"Ammonia draws moisture right out of the skin," Lynn said. "It was, I'm told, at least negative 25 degrees."

Investigators do not know whether the other two juveniles were involved in the drilling, Carter said. They went home and told their parents what happened and their parents called the sheriff's office.

The drill used in the damage is still lying at the scene, as are a backpack and some clothing, Cockream said. Once the danger is eliminated, the area will be processed as a crime scene.

The injured teen's injuries were not considered life-threatening. His last known condition was "critical, but stable," Cockream said.

Investigators are looking into whether the incident is methamphetamine related, as anhydrous ammonia is an ingredient in the process to make the drug, Cockream said, but so far the teens are "sticking to their story," he said.

"Basically, it was a treasure hunt," he said.

One of the teens received a small burn to his leg, Cockream said.

Any charges against the other two teens depend on their degree of involvement in the drilling or planning, he said.

The cleanup cost won't be forgotten, Cockream said.

"I expect there will be lawyers involved," he said. "Somebody will have to pick up the bills for this."

Fire Rescue crews are using five jets of water to create a protective envelope around the gas cloud to keep it from growing, but Lynn said they are hindered in stopping the leak because the hole in the pipeline is so small they can't pinpoint its location. Crews can't get any closer to it than about 15 feet, and all they can see from there is a generalized area of liquid and vapor spew.

"You can't visualize it," Lynn said. "There's so much product coming out."

Pipeline workers tried to wrap a sleeve around the hole in the pipe overnight but were unable to stem the leak.

Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bruce Delk said crews successfully shut off a valve north of the bridge but that the one on the south side did not operate.

Five firefighters were hospitalized Monday night for breathing problems, but they have since been treated and released.

A welding expert from Houston was being flown in by Tampa Pipeline, which owns and operates the pipeline, to try to install a valve in the pipe on the southeast corner of the U.S. 301 bridge over the Alafia River. That will reduce the length of pipe filled with ammonia from miles to about 1,000 feet, said Holley Wade, spokeswoman for Hillsborough County emergency management.

The ammonia no longer is under high pressure, which has slowed how fast it escapes the pipe.

Emergency workers are getting a slight break with the wind today. The National Weather Service said the wind will be light, increasing from about 5 mph in the morning to about 10 mph later in the day. The wind is coming from the northeast.

Simmons Loop Baptist Church, at 6610 Simmons Loop in Riverview, about seven miles south of the bridge, is on standby to open as a shelter tonight.

The Red Cross moved its operation from Riverview Elementary School to Simmons Loop Baptist Church, said spokeswoman Melanie Koch of the organization's Bay area chapter. Two Red Cross volunteers were at the church, and they had cots, food and beverages for evacuees.

The Red Cross also was providing necessities for firefighters, she said.

Riverview Elementary students were bused to Spoto High School, where accommodations for them were made.

Two private schools, The Center Academy, 100518 Riverview Drive, and Children's First Academy, 10614 Riverview Drive, also were closed today. Both are within a quarter-mile of the leak.

About 50 of Riverview's 615 students came to Spoto. No classes were planned there, but the children were fed and supervised throughout the day in the school gym. The Spoto location was provided by the school district for parents who did not have other options for their children's care during school hours.

"Their teachers from Riverview Elementary were all here to greet them this morning," said Riverview Elementary Principal JoAnn Collings. All Riverview teachers reported to Spoto and were given assignments because was a paid workday for them, Collings said.

Karen Gibson, a teacher at Riverview Elementary, was at Spoto with her daughter Jordyn, 9, who attends Riverview.

Jordyn spent part of her morning learning origami, she said. Another portion of her morning was taken up learning sign language for the Pledge of Allegiance, said her mother.

Clyde Trethowen, principal at Spoto, said the elementary students had been kept apart from the older students, although "the high school students would have liked to interact with them," he said. "They wanted to help out if they could."

The Riverview children were scheduled to be picked up about 2 p.m., their normal closing time, by school buses, day care providers or parents.

Collings said children would be bused to their regular stops.

Collings said parents' concerns were "for the most part that their kid would be in a safe location with staff around them.""We were very successful with our plan," Collings said. "Everyone made it work."

Collings was waiting early Monday afternoon to hear whether Riverview Elementary would be open Wednesday.

The U.S. 301 bridge remains closed in both directions from Riverview Drive to a quarter-mile south of the bridge. Interstate 75 and U.S. 41 are recommended as alternate routes. Traffic delays should be expected.

Alafia Mobile Park, with about 25 mobile homes just southwest of the leak, was ordered to evacuate.

The extent of environmental damage is unknown, said Rick Garrity, director of the county's Environmental Protection Commission.

The effect on the river's ecosystem could be devastating, he said.

"Depending on concentrations, it can cause fish kills and damage to shoreline vegetation," Garrity said. "It's pretty caustic stuff."

The leak of ammonia into the Alafia River is not expected to affect the county's drinking water.

The incident is the largest of its kind since a man tapped an ammonia pipeline at FishHawk Ranch in July 2003 for use in making methamphetamine, said division chief Lynn. Crews worked 36 hours straight that time.

Emergency personnel now are working overtime to deal with the leak.

Several other agencies, including the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Coast Guard and private contractors, are involved in the cleanup, Lynn said.

"This is a major deal for a little problem," Lynn said.

The mandatory shutdown of businesses south of Riverview Drive has owners suffering.

At 1 p.m., Jean Ann Leske, owner of Riverview Sandwich Shop at U.S. 301 and Riverview Drive, said she had lost "at least a couple hundred" customers today.

The family-owned restaurant opens at 6 a.m., and its staff of nine is losing out on the usual breakfast and lunch crowd, she said.

Leske has owned the business for 25 years, and last year she purchased the building.

"I was told that I might not be able to open tomorrow, either, and that's going to hurt us," Leske said.

"I'm glad I was able to open on Monday for the holiday, because I'm wondering already when I'm going to get the property tax paid," she said.

Looking at the roadblock in front of her restaurant, Leske shook her head and said, "Even if we could open today, I don't think we'd be busy because nobody can drive in."

Traffic along U.S. 301 near the scene normally backs up during rush hour. But this afternoon, few cars are driving in the blocks near the scene.

The scene also has impacted nearby businesses. Some have been forced to close today. Others have little, if any, business.

"Normally right now we'd be hopping," said Sherman Smith, owner of Multi-Gear Bike & Sport Inc. at 7825 U.S. Highway 301 S. "But today we don't have any business. Everyone's just routing around us."

Reporters Liz Bleau and Neil Johnson contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 394-7060.

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