DEM says owner removed hazardous waste from Woonsocket mill before fire

WOONSOCKET – Hazardous waste had been removed from a vacant Woonsocket mill before it was destroyed by fire overnight Sunday , according to the state Department of Environmental Management.

The DEM had been working with the owner of the mill, 20 Privilege St. LLC, to clean out hazardous waste left behind by the previous owner, according to Evan LaCross, a DEM spokesman.

"DEM has confirmed with the property owner and the contractor that the remaining hazardous waste was removed from the property prior to the fire. It is currently believed that any drums which may have remained in the building during the fire were non-hazardous waste and rainwater," LaCross said via email.

The general-alarm fire at the four-story mill on Privilege Street sent flames high into the night sky and drew multiple fire departments from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Members of the DEM's Office of Emergency Response responded to the fire and continue to assess for potential environmental impacts, LaCross said. The office is working with the Woonsocket HazMat team, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The DEM did not find any impact to Harris Pond, which is located directly behind the property in Massachusetts, but DEM staff will conduct another assessment of the pond Tuesday, LaCross said.

According to the DEM, the building was previously known to contain laboratory pack chemical waste, drums consisting of miscellaneous non-hazardous waste, hazardous waste and oil. A contractor hired by the building owner removed the hazardous waste, the DEM said.

The last production activity at the mill involved the manufacturing of a surfactant for the automatic car wash industry, which isn't considered hazardous waste, according to the DEM.

The DEM also noted that the Woonsocket HazMat team monitored the air for toxic products of combustion and found no signs of hazardous smoke or gas.

"Although these air-quality monitoring results are good news, if individuals smelled smoke, they may have been exposed to air pollutants and fine-particle pollution that are always present in fire smoke, regardless of location," LaCross said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: DEM says owner removed hazardous waste from Woonsocket mill before fire