KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The City of Kalamazoo has issued a no-contact advisory for a portion of the Kalamazoo River after Pfizer sent notice that a chemical spill had occurred late Tuesday afternoon.
The spill occurred around 4:30 p.m. Pfizer estimated that 1,057 gallons of methylene chloride was released within the process area of the manufacturing facility located on Portage Road.
The city said that an unknown amount of the colorless liquid was discharged into a dedicated sanitary sewer serving Pfizer. That sewer flows to the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant (KWRP) for treatment.
At this time the city is advising the public to avoid contact with the river between the Paterson St. Bridge in the City of Kalamazoo and 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,” 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.”
The city said the KWRP is designed to treat and filter out up to 291 gallons of methylene chloride every day. The amount that reached the plant is still unknown at this time, the city is continuing to monitor and sample the water to determine when the water will be safe.
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