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Pfizer Inc.’s global manufacturing campus in Portage, Michigan. Joel Bissell | MLive.com
KALAMAZOO, MI — A no-contact advisory along a stretch of the Kalamazoo River was issued Wednesday afternoon after Pfizer notified the city of Kalamazoo of a chemical spill.
Pfizer notified the Kalamazoo Department of Public Services around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, that an estimated 1,057 gallons of methylene chloride had been released within the process area of the manufacturing facility located at 7000 Portage Road.
It is not known how much of the colorless liquid was discharged into a dedicated sanitary sewer serving Pfizer, which then flows to the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant for treatment, according to a joint news release from the city of Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department.
All persons are being asked to avoid contact with the Kalamazoo River from Paterson Street Bridge in the city of Kalamazoo to the D Avenue Bridge in Cooper Township.
“We decided to issue a no-contact advisory for the stretch of river impacted by the methylene chloride release as a precautionary measure,” Kalamazoo County Health Officer Jim Rutherford said. “This advisory will remain in effect until further investigation and sampling indicates that there is no risk to public health.”
While the water reclamation plant is designed and permitted to treat up to 291 gallons per day of methylene chloride, the total volume of methylene chloride that reached the plant following Tuesday’s release is still not known, the release states.
Sampling of the Kalamazoo River within the identified area is ongoing and will continue as long as necessary until results can be analyzed and the advisory lifted.
