COSTA MESA : Chemical Spills Into Canal at Times Plant
Several gallons of fluid spilled from an air-conditioning unit at The Times Orange County plant Tuesday and flowed into storm drains, but the solution never reached a drainage canal, authorities said.
The accident occurred as a crew was working on rooftop air-conditioning equipment at the Sunflower Avenue plant, where three past spills recently resulted in $30,000 in fines to the newspaper.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 31, 1990 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday March 31, 1990 Orange County Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Column 4 Metro Desk 1 inches; 36 words Type of Material: Correction
Chemical spill--The headline for a story about a chemical spill Tuesday at The Times Orange County plant incorrectly said the chemical spilled into a canal. As stated in the story, the solution never reached a drainage canal but stayed on Times property.
Costa Mesa fire officials said that less than five gallons reached a storm drain on the newspaper plant’s property and that the flow was so minimal that it never left Times property.
A Times executive said the spill Tuesday involved the same rust inhibiting solution that had been accidentally dumped in storm drains in two of the three past incidents. The third spill involved a highly diluted solution of developing fluid used in the printing process.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
