SC

Main Street “ICE” Chemical Spill Scandal Brewing

TOXIC LEAKAGE REPORTED FROM GOVERNMENT-FUNDED ICE SKATING RINK Remember “Main Street Ice?” For those of you who’ve forgotten, this is the infamous government-funded ice skating rink in downtown Columbia, S.C. – a city whose motto is “famously hot” (and a city which has proven famously incapable of managing its infrastructure). Anyway,…

TOXIC LEAKAGE REPORTED FROM GOVERNMENT-FUNDED ICE SKATING RINK

Remember “Main Street Ice?”

For those of you who’ve forgotten, this is the infamous government-funded ice skating rink in downtown Columbia, S.C. – a city whose motto is “famously hot” (and a city which has proven famously incapable of managing its infrastructure).

Anyway, according to our sources Main Street Ice was involved in a hazardous materials incident this week in which toxic chemicals were leaked into a downtown Columbia, S.C. storm drain.

The chemical mixture – half Ethylene Glycol and half water – was reportedly discovered dumped into a storm drain early Thursday morning as the rink was being disassembled.

Columbia, S.C. hazardous materials crews reportedly arrived on the scene around noon on Thursday, but they “(couldn’t) really do much because the anti-freeze has already traveled down in to the storm drain system before they were notified.”

“It’s not a good day to be a fish,” a source familiar with the spill told us.

S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) emergency officials were on the scene responding to a complaint regarding the incident –  which City of Columbia officials told the agency involved a 250-300 gallon spill.

“The city is cleaning it up by jetting and vacuuming the storm drain utilizing a vacuum truck,” an SCDHEC official told us.  “All solid and liquid waste is being removed and will be appropriately disposed of.  Nothing has been discharged to the environment.”

Obviously this website opposed this facility from the get-go …

“We’re all for the idyllic holiday vision of families ice skating in front of a Macy’s store (ironically, the property on which this government museum sits used to be home to a Macy’s store) but that vision that ought to be provided by the private sector – not government,” we wrote.

Indeed …

UPDATE: According to an SCDHEC official, the hazardous material involved in this incident “has been recovered and will be properly disposed of by a third party vendor in accordance with state and federal regulations.”  The official added that there was “no impact to the environment and no entry in to the waterways of the state.”

***

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40 comments

Alcatraz January 21, 2016 at 1:51 pm

Streets are all clear…super hush-hush routine evidently.

Reply
The Colonel (R) January 21, 2016 at 1:52 pm

What a marvelou$ example of inve$tigative journali$m Will!!!

Quantity?

Source?

Evidence that the Ice Rink had anything to do with it and it wasn’t just a car with a bad radiator return hose?

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Rocky Verdad January 21, 2016 at 1:54 pm

Picky, picky. If it was Feb 17 we could attribute it to an old barrel of stuff from Sherman’s army.

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grindingteeth January 21, 2016 at 4:23 pm

“were”

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Charlie Foxtrot Delta January 21, 2016 at 4:02 pm

Quantity? In excess of 250 gallons, residue present in the manhole access at Hampton and Main and Hampton and Assembly.

Source? Employees of Main Street ICE on the scene who provided the MSDS sheets and pointed out where their leak entered the storm drain.

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The Colonel (R) January 21, 2016 at 4:09 pm

So apparently someone has the facts…

They use a form of antifreeze in the coils that “refrigerate” the ice so it makes some sense.

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CorruptionInColumbia January 21, 2016 at 10:13 pm

Exactly! That’s why we come here, for the news the so-called “real” news sources can’t, won’t, or otherwise fail to cover. This is especially the case since there is no more legendary T&A to be found here. :-(

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shifty henry January 22, 2016 at 1:08 am

I practiced my COPY & PASTE on those pictures …..

9" January 21, 2016 at 5:30 pm

that’s a lot of residue in the manhole…

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TontoBubbaGoldstein January 21, 2016 at 10:13 pm

…residue present in the manhole access at Hampton and Main and Hampton and Assembly.

There has got to be a Lindsey Graham joke here.

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Former Columbia City Blowfish January 21, 2016 at 1:52 pm

First I had to dodge unfiltered turds coming out of city mains, now anti-freeze?

I hope the first redneck that catches my ass eats me and dies. No wonder they built a ball stadium instead of fixing the water system.

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The Plex January 21, 2016 at 1:54 pm

We don’t leak chemicals into sewers…plus we create jobs instead of killing them; we don’t have to tax everyone for our services, only those who use them pay.

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CorruptionInColumbia January 21, 2016 at 2:11 pm

Why does Main Skreet Ice need anti-freeze, anyhow? You’d think they would be using “pro-freeze”, or something like that

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Quietus January 21, 2016 at 3:38 pm

Tuesday was the last day for this year. They are disassembling the ice rink.

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Slartibartfast January 21, 2016 at 7:52 pm

See.. This is what’s wrong with Government. The coldest months of the year are mid-Jan to mid March! Please tell me somebody from Beaufort is in charge of that department..

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The Colonel (R) January 21, 2016 at 4:11 pm

They use “antifreeze” because they can cool it well below the freezing point of water and pump it through coils to cool then freeze the water that becomes the ice you skate on. It wasn’t Dextron though.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein January 21, 2016 at 10:08 pm

PRO TIP:

Liquor and beer…
Never Fear.

Beer and wine…
Also fine.

Prestone and gin…
Think again.

Reply
Yelsewh January 21, 2016 at 2:40 pm

You really should’ve included a pic of some wimmins with the article. Try this one.

http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/pbs.jpg

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jimlewisowb January 21, 2016 at 2:44 pm

Is that T-Bone’s fan club, the T-Bonettes ?

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T-Boner January 21, 2016 at 3:24 pm

I’d pay to see “Porn on Ice”, I’m just skeptical of the talent a small market like Columbia would be able to procure- maybe the Penny tax can help?

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shifty henry January 21, 2016 at 4:34 pm

When I was stationed on a Greek island I went to see a gal who stripped naked while she was on roller skates. That was a traveling cabaret treat. I also had a two week career on stage with a stripper — dancing the Peppermint Twist with her while she did her gyrations. The cabaret owner paid me in meals and drinks, and a lesson in how to deal with drunks.

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The Colonel (R) January 21, 2016 at 4:39 pm

“… I also had a two week career on stage with a stripper — dancing the Peppermint Twist with her while she did her gyrations…”

Scary.

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shifty henry January 21, 2016 at 4:45 pm

Well, it was great while it lasted and it was a hit with the crowd —- until the regulars became tired of that part of her act even though it was only once per night.

God's Work January 22, 2016 at 8:58 am

You, sir, are awesome.

Reply
idcydm January 21, 2016 at 2:52 pm

If you live in the south and want to ice skate outdoors, move north.

Outdoor ice rinks are not a function of government.

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Solution January 21, 2016 at 3:44 pm

Clearly we need a $100k ice manager, preferably a political insider that gets paid training from a paid outside consultant. Just need to hire an outside promotional team to set this up.

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shifty henry January 21, 2016 at 4:03 pm

Wasn’t that rink supposed to be used by the local neighborhood children? None are shown in the photo.

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Richard Nixon January 21, 2016 at 4:30 pm

‘Nothing has been discharged to the environment’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN9x6zckn18

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shitfitNEWS January 21, 2016 at 4:47 pm

“We’re all for the idyllic holiday vision of families tailgating in front of William’s Brice Stadium (ironically, the property owned by our alma mater,USC) but the vision ought to be provided by the private sector – not government,” we wrote.

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Non-Libertarian Translation January 21, 2016 at 5:03 pm

In other words, if a private skate rink dumped hundreds of gallons of antifreeze into the sewers it wouldn’t have been so objectionable.

Unless, of course, the EPA wanted to regulate it.

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JamesHolderman January 21, 2016 at 5:15 pm

Correct.Go Cocks!

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Tastes Like Antifreeze January 21, 2016 at 5:01 pm

Drink this, kids at home!

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Soft Sigh from Hell January 21, 2016 at 5:30 pm

Ponder how much antifreeze will be poured on the ground with airliner deicing over the next few days.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein January 21, 2016 at 10:06 pm

According to TBG’s sources, the antifreeze spill was a one time deal…but the release of extremely dangerous DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE into stormwater drains is a regular occurrence in Columbia…AND NOT ONLY BY THIS FACILITY!!!!!!!!!

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CorruptionInColumbia January 21, 2016 at 10:14 pm

Is that what we have come to call, “shitwater”?

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The Colonel (R) January 21, 2016 at 10:35 pm

Think back to high school chemistry.

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CorruptionInColumbia January 21, 2016 at 10:57 pm

Thinking back to English, I just added an adjective.

:-)

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"Yes Nigger Mayor!" January 22, 2016 at 10:52 am

This is one of the many other things Columbia spends its water and sewer money on. But, hey, The Mayor knows the water is bad, and that we dump raw sewage into the river on a regular basis. And that he would rather spend our utility money on whores than on actual infrastructure. Nothing new here. If you don’t like it, move to Flint.

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LouieBuoy January 22, 2016 at 4:58 pm

Ha! You can drink that stuff all day. But not live to tell about it. There used to be a radiator shop over on Elmwood, that had a green flow coming out to the curb all day long, which flowed into where? The Columbia Canal, aka fresh water supply for Columbia. Damage done as in it’s not a good day to be a fish or water drinking citizen. In this day and age, why would an ice rink even utilize ethylene glycol? There are alternatives. Bet DHEC won’t even fine anyone for the spill. They’re too busy trying to figure out how to clean up the sludge children found in the Congaree River.

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ELCID January 22, 2016 at 6:00 pm

BS, There is no way that 300 gallons of Anti-Freeze put into the storm drains of Columbia did not get into the Congaree River. They would have to vacuum the River to get that stuff back. Just another cover up by the Tricky Nicky Haley DHEC.

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