Capital Region Airport Plane Crash Spill Response

Background

ERG was contacted to conduct emergency response actions following the crash of a private jet during takeoff. The initial emergency response actions were completed to address the release of approximately 300 gallons of Jet A Fuel, which subsequently caught fire due to impact.

The Challenge

The airport fire department extinguished the fire using a mixture of water and aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Due to heavy rainfall the night of the crash, rainwater mixed with remnant jet fuel and PFAS impacted water and flowed into the surface drainage system towards a county drain, that ultimately flows into a major river.

ERG’s Solution

ERG coordinated emergency response activities with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), airport management, and the county drain commission. ERG’s goals were to prevent the migration of the impacted water into the county drain system and oversee remediation activities that included the removal and disposal of impacted soil and the PFAS/fuel water mixture. Verification samples were collected and submitted for laboratory analyses.

Client Results:

• Emergency response actions resulted in the recovery of approximately 17,000 gallons of impacted water and 1,340 tons of impacted soil.

• Analytical results confirmed the response actions prevented the impacted water from reaching the river and remediation activities removed the impacted soil.

 SERVICES PROVIDED

Remediation of PFAS / jet fuel impacted storm / fire suppression water mixture • Impacted soil removal • Verification of soil remediation (VSR) sampling • Emergency response