Ammonia Spills Into Newhall Neighborhood

An estimated 8,000 gallons of a weak mixture of ammonia and water spilled from an ARCO plant and through a neighborhood in Newhall before being capped Wednesday morning, but there were no evacuations or injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

The leak was reported at 9 p.m. Tuesday at the ARCO steam and electrical cogeneration plant near the 20800 block of Placerita Canyon Road, Fire Capt. Lynn Mohr said.

The liquid, which was estimated to be more than 96% water, leaked from an ammonia holding tank that had a water hose running inside it, Mohr said. The solution spilled over the tank and flowed down a canyon and along nearby Oak Orchard Road and Oakcreek Avenue into the dry bed of Placerita Creek, Mohr said.

The leak was halted by ARCO employees about 1 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

Mohr said county health authorities were notified to investigate possible environmental damage. Santa Clarita officials said soil samples were taken from the spill area but it had not been determined if contaminated soil would have to be removed.

Though several residents called the Fire Department to report the odor of ammonia, Mohr said, no evacuations were considered. “It was fairly weak, probably weaker than a household cleaning solution,” he said. “We chose to let the water flow with it and dilute it.”

Mohr said the ammonia is used in scrubbers that clean emissions from the plant.