35K gallons of corn ‘gluten mush’ spill near local river, Ohio EPA says

DAYTON — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is investigating after thousands of gallons of corn by-product which can be used in food, feed and also as a natural weed killer spilled into a waterway Friday.

Friday around 2 p.m. the Ohio EPA responded to a report of corn gluten meal, or corn protein, released from Cargill Corn Milling on Needmore Road into the Great Miami River, according to an Ohio EPA spokesperson.

Cargill said while their tributary does feed into the Great Miami River, the spill was contained to the tributary and did not make it into the river.

Cargill was issued a Notice of Violation by the Ohio EPA for the “unauthorized discharge of material to waters of the state of Ohio.”

A spokesperson for Cargill issued the following statement:

“On Friday, October 27, the Cargill Dayton corn milling facility discovered a failure in its corn protein processing system, resulting in corn protein, an ingredient often used in food and feed (including fish feed), and its processing water to mix with our non-contact cooling water system, which is legally permitted to discharge into the adjacent tributary. Upon discovery, the Cargill team immediately shut down the corn protein processing system, isolated the processing water stream and informed the Ohio EPA and the City of Dayton. The discharge was contained to the tributary, and the cleanup was completed safely by a reliable third-party, with Cargill and the Ohio EPA overseeing the work. Cargill worked closely with multiple agencies to determine the impact on the river and will continue to monitor the impacted area for a week. Cargill did receive a notice of violation from the EPA.”

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When responders arrived on the scene they found 35,000 gallons of “gluten mush” in the waterway, the Ohio EPA said.

Cargill said while the Ohio EPA noted one of the uses of corn protein is as a natural weed killer, the product they produce is only used for feed and food.

The Ohio EPA said the release was within a half-mile of the Dayton public water system, but was contained before it could enter the system.

Large straw bales were placed in the river as an environmental way to filter the gluten, the Ohio EPA said.

The bales are expected to stay in the water until Thursday to ensure the gluten is filtered completely — a spokesperson for Cargill said the cleanup has been completed and the barrels are a precautionary measure.

Cargill has received four other violations in the last five years from the Ohio EPA related to emissions and air pollution control.

The Ohio EPA said there are no concerns for drinking or groundwater in the area.

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