EAST KINGSTON – Chief Ed Warren reports that the East Kingston Fire Department and mutual aid partners responded Monday to a hazardous materials (Hazmat) situation.
On Monday, Aug. 4, at approximately 10 a.m., the East Kingston Fire Department was called to the area of Pow Wow Pond and the Pow Wow River, to investigate a report of a sheen on top of the water.
Companies arrived to find a large sheen on the water in the pond, which feeds into the river. East Kingston firefighters requested assistance from the Merrimac, Mass. Police Drone Unit to learn how large the sheen was.
Firefighters from East Kingston and Newburyport, Mass., set up booms to contain the material, while firefighters from South Hampton, Newton, Kingston, and Amesbury, Mass., provided personnel.
East Kingston firefighters also contacted New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to provide consultation and testing of the material on the water.
NH DES reports the material appears to be broken down organic material and minerals that do not pose a threat to public health. Additional testing is being conducted, out of an abundance of caution, to ensure there are no petroleum products in the material.
In addition to firefighters placing booms around the material, the NH DES Dam Bureau also closed the dam at Pow Wow Pond to help prevent the material from flowing downstream in the Pow Wow River.
“We appreciate the community members who called in to report this situation, and we continue to work to ensure that if there are any hazardous materials they are contained and removed appropriately,” said Chief Warren. “It appears the material is not a threat to public health, but we will continue to work with NH DES to ensure that is the case, and that we take appropriate steps if anything harmful is identified.”
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