Photo: Kendall Buhl/WBZ NewsRadio
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Crews cleaned up several Newburyport homes after a nearby wind turbine leak stained them with chemicals last week.
According to the company that operates the turbine, Mark Richy Woodworking, hydraulic fluid leaked from the structure. Gusts of wind and rain from the recent storm ended up pushing the fluid onto homes, staining them.
Some residents expressed concerns about the potential health impacts the chemicals could create in the long run.
“We have a large organic garden; we’ve got a koi pond, so we actually just had somebody come in to do soil testing on our own, so we can make sure everything else is safe,” Jennifer, a local resident whose porch got stained by the leak, told WBZ NewsRadio.
The company added that a gallon and a half of the fluid was involved in the incident, but did not trigger a response from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection agency.
According to DEP, the amount of hydraulic fluid from the leak fell under the required Reported Quantity that would need state agency to step in, which is 10 gallons.
However, residents said they are skeptical about the amount reported by the company.
“It seems like there’s much more affected area than one and a half gallons would result in,” Jennifer added. “So that’s a little frustrating.”
WBZ NewsRadio reached out to Mark Richy Woodworking for comment but did not hear back. Residents said that the company has been responsive in cleanup efforts.
“If you ever had an oil stain anywhere, it’s just all those all over your house,” Tyler, another impacted resident, said. “The wind was going every which way that day.”
WBZ NewsRadio's Kendall Buhl reports.