Officials from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration investigated a slurry spill last month at LafargeHolcim’s Ravena cement plant, reported the Albany Times Union.
Robin DeCarlo, head of U.S. cement for LafargeHolcim, said the spill took place from a tank where slurry is pumped to nearby high-temperature rotary kilns for processing into cement.
Initial reports indicated the spill reached the nearby Coeymans Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, but DeCarlo could not confirm or deny that. She said the spill was “small,” but could not provide any estimate of the amount.
DEC official Jomo Miller said most of the spill was contained in a network of catch basins and settling ponds. The spill involved about 100,000 gal. of slurry, some of which did reach the creek, according to the DEC. However, it was not expected to environmentally damage the creek.
In 2015, the company was fined twice by the state in less than a year for polluting Coeymans Creek with waste from the plant’s landfill, which is used to store cement kiln dust. The fines totaled $159,000.
