Messed Up gets results for Sylvan Heights neighbors
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After Sylvan Heights neighbors discover 50 gallon drums of a paint like substance ponding on the ground in their neighborhood, they contacted That’s Messed Up.
I visit the site behind a factory off of Nevada and 40th avenue in West Nashville. I quickly find rusty 50 gallon drums tipped over and ponds of yellow and red goo.
I detect a strong smell of paint.
Michael Bell lives next to the factory. Bell says when the wind blows - the smell from this colorful dump site permeates the air.
Bell says neighbors called TDEC months earlier, but investigators said the material was being properly stored. Obviously, the problem has grown much worse.
The spill is located behind the steel manufacturing building, next rail road tracks and bordered by Montgomery Bell Academy’s practice field.
I get the owner of the facility where the paint is spilled to accompany me around back.
Bill Gambill seems shocked by what I show him.
Shaking his head in disbelief, the steel fabricator pledges to clean this up.
Gambill is a man of his word. Less than 24 hours later, I return to the site and there is a bob cat scraping soil, and 3 heavily protected factory employees cleaning up the spill.
“We are grabbing the top soil,” Gambill says. “We’re putting it into sealed barrels and then get rid of them according to EPA plan.”
I ask him if the ponding puddles of goo are in deed paint. He tells me they are.
“Some of it is non leaded. Some is water based paint. Some of it is cut with light industrial thinner.
He says the paint is not considered dangerous, but he says the clean up is expensive. He has to pay for the bob cat, and pay his workers to scrape paint rather than work in the factory. He has to pay for the sealed drums and ultimately the disposal.
“I didn’t know this was here. So as soon as I was made aware, I want it gone. I don’t need this kind of problem with economy like it is. The cost of recycling and the cost of getting these burned. The paint must be sent off to Ashland Chemcial. It’s $200 dollars a barrel. So I’m looking at costs there. And the economy is low. So this is time and money out of my pocket. I would like to know who the heck did this. It was none of my doing.”
Eric McCann is engineer with the Metro Public Health Department’s air pollution division. He tells me:
“We had a paint spill. We are talking to Mr. Gambill. It was some waste paint. As far as atmospheric pollution? we found a small amount of volatiles in the paint being released.”
I ask TDEC about possible ground water contamination?
Meg Lockhart writes:
There are no anticipated groundwater issues due to the spill — I am told this is due to the product itself and that it is not water soluble and would be more of an air quality concern as it is a fast drying enamel paint. Again, cleanup efforts continue.
While we do not know exactly how the product from these drums was released, it appears to be an act of vandalism. However, because these drums are on Mr. Gambill’s property, it is his responsibility to clean up the site — which they are doing. According to TDEC staff at the site today, the property owner is handling the cleanup effort appropriately. In addition, staff from both Metro’s Health Department and Air Pollution Control divisions have visited the site today as well. The department will continue to investigate the matter but as mentioned, cleanup efforts are ongoing.”
Mr. Gambill tells Messed Up he has been battling gangs and vandalism. He has not called the police, but he suspects that the gangs might be responsible for the spill.
