Pfizer assures no health risks after methylene chloride spill in Kalamazoo

PARCHMENT, Mich. — Pfizer said they don’t anticipate any health risks after notifying the City of Kalamazoo that an estimated 1,057 gallons of methylene chloride spilled Tuesday.

The Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant is designed and permitted to treat up to 291 gallons per day of methylene chloride, per a release from the City of Kalamazoo.

The city issued a No Contact Advisory for the stretch of the Kalamazoo River from the Paterson Street Bridge to the D Avenue Bridge in Cooper Township.

In a statement to News Channel 3, Pfizer said they do not anticipate any public health risks.

The city is in the midst of testing the water and should expect results next Thursday.

Methylene chloride is a odorless, colorless liquid that is often used as a solvent in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. Marcus Wasilevich, a toxicologist at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, says high concentrations of methylene chloride can be harmful if people were to come in contact with it.

“It can be absorbed into the human body through three routes of exposure,” he told News Channel 3. “It can be absorbed through the skin, it can be inhaled, and it can be absorbed into your digestive tract if you were to swallow it.”

He said it can have potentially dangerous effects if people come into contact with high concentrations of it.

“Inhaling it in large quantities can leave the central nervous system conditions such as dizziness, nausea, tingling in the fingers and toes, low level inhalation of methylene chloride can lead to a lack of attention or hard to do hand-eye coordinated tasks,” he said.

The city plans to learn from this experience and be better for it.

“Every time we have an event, we learn from it, and it’s our goal to apply that knowledge not only to the manufacturer we’re working with, but to other industries as well,” Public Services Director James Baker said. “I think everybody can learn from this event and we’re going to be looking to apply that knowledge as we go through and do those inspections over the next year.”

Pfizer released the following statement in regards to the spill:

“On Tuesday March 12th, a tank at Pfizer’s Kalamazoo plant discharged methylene chloride, a widely used industrial solvent, to the site’s sanitary sewer system. We detected and captured the majority of the solvent onsite. A portion of the solvent which may have exceeded the permitted limits was discharged to the Kalamazoo Wastewater Reclamation Plant, which has its own treatment processes in place. The Kalamazoo Wastewater Reclamation Plant is designed and permitted to treat methylene chloride. Given the amount of the discharge and controls in place, we do not anticipate any health risks. Pfizer will continue to work with the City of Kalamazoo and is firmly committed to assessing and minimizing any potential impacts on human health, the environment, and the communities in which it operates.”