This story was originally posted Wednesday (Oct. 23) at 2:53 p.m. and the Post printed it in Thursday morning’s edition. To get all of the local news first, pick up the Post in the mornings. Our competition does — that’s where they get their story ideas.
BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Tesla employees have spilled an unidentified chemical into Palo Alto’s storm drains and Matadero Creek, according to a hazardous materials spill report by the California Office of Emergency Services.
The spill was reported on Thursday around 5 p.m., the report said.
A mixture of dye and a chemical used for the chiller system that cools Tesla’s AI supercomputer was released while Tesla employees were draining the system, the spill report said.
Palo Alto firefighters recovered around 550 gallons of the mixture from storm drains, the report said.
It’s unknown how much of the mixture was released and ended up in the creek, the report said.
The spill was caused by “human error” at Tesla’s research and development facility at 1501 Page Mill Road, the spill report said.
Tesla has contracted with Clean Harbors to clean-up the release. Crews were on-site today (Oct. 23) with a bulldozer, trucks, dumpsters filled with dirt, a hose hooked up to a fire hydrant and “DANGER” tape around the edge of the creek.
The clean-up is happening at 410 Fernando Ave., across the street from Boulware Park and about a mile away from the site of the spill.
Cari Templeton, a member of the Planning and Transportation Commission who is running for council, said she’s concerned about how little residents know. She learned about the spill last night when a concerned resident reached out.
Templeton said she reached out to Valley Water this morning and the agency didn’t know about the spill.
“We need better communication when environmental incidents occur, such as this one,” Templeton said in an email. “People shouldn’t have to dig this hard to find out when a chemical cleanup is happening next to their home and in their city, and how it will affect their families and children.”
Templeton said she has a lot of questions: “Why didn’t the Palo Alto Fire Department report this incident to Valley Water directly? Exactly what chemicals were spilled? Are these chemicals dangerous? Was this spill reported when the incident occurred, or was there a delay between when it occurred and when it was reported? How did it get into the creek — was it dumped? And who is the clean-up crew accountable to — the government or Tesla?”
Tesla representatives and Fire Marshall Tamara Jasso couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Not again! This is totally unacceptable, and the 2nd toxic spill into the upper (natural not trenched) Matadero Creek in the last 4 years or so.
This riparian corridor is habitat for a range of spieces – fish, large and small birds, ducks, native plants, etc.
Is there a way to divert spills from going into storm drains? Sure seems that we should do better. Much better.
Forgot to thank Braden and the Daily Post letting the public know this happened. It took 4th Estate to do what the City should have done days ago – inform us of the spill soon after it happened, then update us.
More evidence of why the City of Palo Alto should stop considering letting Tesla use PA as a test bed for their autonomous vehicles.
Tesla’s record on the safety of its vehicles, its willingness to endanger its employees at its Fremont factory, its willingness to fire deprive fired employees if their severance pay and stock options, its refusal to pay landlords, its transferring corporate HQs to avoid CA taxes and so much more SHOULD be grounds for PA to just say no already,
I don’t follow. What do stock options have to do with chemical spills?
Typical that the city didn’t tell anyone about the spill and neighbors had to discover it themselves. This desire at City Hall for total secrecy about public matters is getting to be ridiculous.