Crews clean up hydraulic fluid after Newburyport turbine incident
Credit: By Steve Cooper · January 7, 2025 · whdh.com ~~
Newburyport neighbors had their first look at cleanup crews that showed up Tuesday morning along Route 1, all under the watchful eye of the Department of Environmental Protection.
This is the result of hydraulic fluid that came cascading down from a wind turbine before ending up across the street, leaving blotches of fluid covering the siding of a condo complex, cars, curbing and fences too.
Fire officials say it was all the result of a recent rain storm that included high winds.
Mackenzie Shelgren says the whole thing is a little unsettling, not just because she recently bought her condo, she’s also concerned about her dog Ember licking the fluid.
“I don’t know the long term effects that’ll have on her, which makes us a little bit nervous,” said Shelgren. “So we’re trying to avoid where the hydraulic fluid is.”
Mark Richey is president of the woodworking company that owns the turbine.
He says a small amount of the fluid ended up in a catch basin after an overflow inside the turbine and when it started dripping down the winds blew it across the street.
“This is the first time we’ve had any kind of incident like this,” Richey said. “It is an older turbine now and does require a lot of maintenance. But we are surprised.”
Richey has already made it clear his company is planning to cover all the cleanup costs.
Shelgren hopes the hydraulic fluid has no long-term environmental effects.
“The baseline is, I just hope we’re kind of safe,” said Shelgren.
The turbine is off. It won’t be turned back on until the owners find out why this happened, and make sure it never happens again.
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