Tiverton and Area Fire Departments Suppress Chlorine Gas Leak At Lawton Valley Water Treatment Plant

An overnight chlorine gas leak at the Lawton Valley Water Treatment Plant was caused by a "faulty vacuum regulator valve," said Newport's Director of Utilities Julia Forgue Friday morning.

Crews from the , as well as several other agencies, including the , quickly contained a dangerous chlorine leak early Friday morning at the West Main Road water treatment plant. The incident occurred shortly before midnight, said Forgue.

Workers at the plant, which is owned and operated by the city of Newport, called the fire department after hearing the alarm and smelling chlorine gas. No illnesses were reported.

"They smelled fumes and saw a vapor coming out from underneath a doorway," said Portsmouth Fire Chief Jeffrey P. Lynch.

The safety valve prevented any further leaks and managed to completely stop the leak coming from the faulty vacuum regulator valve. Crews stayed on scene for another five and a half hours to make sure the building was ventilated.

The leak occurred in an empty building, which contained two, one-ton cylinders. The leak occurred as one empty tank was switching to a full tank.

"When one is empty, they switch to the other (cylinder)," Forgue said. The leak occurred during the switch through the vacuum valve.

However, much like an oil tank, a cylinder is never completely empty. According to Forgue, this remainder of chlorine in the empty tank leaked Friday. It is unknown how much of the gas escaped into the empty room.

Luckily, "everything worked the way it should have," Forgue said.

Once the plant's computer system detected a leak, an alarm sounded and the automatic safety valve turned on. "Once it sniffs the chlorine, it triggers the shut-off valve," Forgue said.

HAZMAT crews in protective gear entered the empty building afterwards to assess the leak.

"We isolated that side of the plant, which will go back online again later this morning," Forgue said. "We will repair the regulator valve first."

Water service should not be interrupted during the repairs since the department can operate using one tank. "We can operate using one tank for up to three weeks," Forgue said.

The employees were working in a separate building on the plant's campus at the time. No nearby neighborhoods were evacuated since there was "no wind" early Friday, according to Forgue. 

The plant is located on West Main Road not far from and .

The Lawtown Valley Water Treatment Plant is also under plans for renovation. The city of Newport hopes to construct a new water treatment plant by December 2014. Design plans are pending.

With the new plant, according to Forgue, the city plans to switch to using liquid chlorine instead of gas.

Responding the chlorine gas leak Friday were members of the Portsmouth Fire Department, Newport Fire Department, Portsmouth Police Department and East Providence and Navy HAZMAT teams. Middletown and Tiverton Fire Departments also offered mutual aid.