CT has had more than 9,000 chemical spills in past 6 years

HAZMAT accounts for 30 percent of spills, according to Department of Energy and Environment Protection

There were 1,466 incidents involving transportation of hazardous materials in Connecticut in 2022, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

In March 2022, for example, a shipment of sodium hydroxide, which the U.S. Department of Transportation classifies as a corrosive material, spilled in Willington while on its way from Joliet, Ill., to Portland, Maine.

In October, a quantity of what was reported as “aerosols, poison” leaked in Bozrah while in transit from Atlanta to Coventry.

“From our perspective, transportation incidents involving hazmat account for 30 percent of all spills reported to DEEP,” spokesman Paul Copleman said.

There were a total of 9,177 chemical and oil spills reported to state authorities between 2017 and 2022. The high was in 2018 when there were 1,918 total spills.

“We tend to see more transit-related releases from an accident rather than an unloading-type spill,” Copleman said by email. “It’s important to note that the largest carriers/fleets on the road tend to be delivery companies, so they simply have more vehicles on the road for more hours.”

The size and impact of transportation-related spills can vary greatly.

Some are cleaned immediately with little to no impact. Others, such as an 8,000-gallon spill in Norfolk in November, can take days to clean.

About 20 homes were evacuated after that incident, and officials said gasoline seeped into storm drains and made its way to the Blackberry River.

“Every accident is unique, from a two-car motor vehicle accident, which can lead to oils, gasoline and radiator fluid on the road or in the environment, to larger incidents, but life and safety is priority one for our emergency responders, and then we focus on containment and mitigation,” Copleman said.

Under federal law, some hazmat incidents are required to be reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to data, most of those incidents occurred while during transport or unloading from trucks. Of the 24,754 hazmat incidents reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation that occurred nationwide during 2022, 23,197 were chemicals being transported by truck.

Only 355 of the 24,754 incidents nationwide reported to U.S. Department of Transportation involved a train.

The 355 train-related incidents resulted in $45,286,894 worth of damage, while the 21,197 trucking-related incidents resulted in $21,804,608 worth of damage.

There were no train-related hazmat incidents in Connecticut over the course of 2022. The 364 incidents in Connecticut reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation resulted in $252,688 worth of damage.

Courtesy of Jon Barbagallo In recent years, emergency responders have dealt with such cleanups as this overturned tanker that spilled 8,000 gallons of gasoline.

Brian Gioiele/Hearst Connecticut Media About 200 gallons of transformer oil spilled onto Huntington Street in Shelton after a vehicle crashed into a utility pole, officials said.

Contributed photo This overturned tanker spilled jet fuel at Tweed New Haven Airport.