Fairport Harbor: Ohio EPA heading probe into odor that made construction workers ill at excavation site
Sep. 7—The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is spearheading an investigation into what caused construction workers in Fairport Harbor to become ill on Sept. 7 during a project involving excavation on Saint Clair Street.
Fairport Harbor Fire and Police departments were alerted at 10:18 a.m. Sept. 7 of a possible chemical leak on Saint Clair Street in which people were injured. That's according to a news release issued at about 5:15 p.m. by the Fairport Harbor Fire Department.
Painesville Township Fire Department also responded because of the initial report of injuries, the news release stated.
Fairport Harbor Fire Department arrived on the scene at 10:22 a.m. and learned that four or five construction employees had become ill while working.
"As the crew was excavating around an unknown abandoned line, they noticed a strange odor and began to feel ill," Fairport Harbor Fire Chief Bob Lloyd said in the news release.
The workers are constructing a secondary waterline between Fairport Harbor and Painesville, Fairport Harbor government stated on its official Facebook page at about 3 p.m. Sept. 7.
"Please note that this was not a waterline break and this construction incident has nothing to do with our water system," village government stated in its Facebook post.
Lloyd added that the incident was not an explosion or fire.
Fairport Harbor is constructing the secondary water-main connection as part of a plan to eventually purchase bulk water from the city of Painesville.
CT Consultants Vice President Richard Iafelice, at a previous Village Council meeting, noted that once the Fairport Harbor water plant is decommissioned, the village's only connection to Painesville's water system would be through an existing valve vault on Richmond Street.
"A secondary connection is advised," he said. "It's a guideline — not a mandate — from the Environmental Protection Agency for best practices."
CT Consultants is a Mentor-based engineering firm that serves Fairport Harbor on a contractual basis.
In the Sept 7 news release, Lloyd stated that Lake County Hazardous Intervention Team, Lake County General Health District and the Ohio EPA were requested to assist in identifying the source of the odor.
Samples of material were taken from the excavation site by the hazmat team and are being sent to a laboratory for identification, Lloyd said.
The exposed workers were transported to a hospital and then treated and released, the news release stated.
Fairport Harbor Fire Department remained on the scene until 4:22 p.m.
Saint Clair Street will remain closed until further notice, the news release stated.
