Politics & Government

Oil Cleanup Was Also Part of Route 114 Mess

In addition to a road closure and detour, mineral oil also had to be cleaned up along Route 114 after several utility poles snapped this past week.

When strong winds ripped down more than a half dozen utility poles along Route 114 on Thursday, it also created a small oil spill.

The utility poles bent and snapped just before 10 a.m. causing the road to be closed and detouring thousands of cars through a side street and through a Danvers neighborhood. The poles were repaired and the road reopened for the Friday morning commute.

When the poles came down, one of the poles had a transformer on it and it smashed on the road, releasing about 45 gallons of non-PCB mineral oil, or MODF -  Mineral Oil Dielectric Fluid. It is a petroleum product.

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The state Department of Environmental Protection was notified and in turn ordered that a cleanup be conducted, according to Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the state DEP. Peabody Municipal Light Department hired CleanHarbors to do the work.

“They cleaned up the drainage swales and storm drains,” Ferson said.

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A small amount of the oil got into the soil along the side of the road and that had to be removed.

The oil did not get in to any wetlands or surface water, Ferson said. The cleanup met the DEP standards by 5:30 p.m., Ferson said.


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