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Oregon weighs penalties after Precision Castparts chemical spill in Johnson Creek
A leak of nearly 400 gallons of industrial chemicals killed fish along a two-mile stretch of Johnson Creek in southeast Portland, state regulators say. Oregon officials are considering enforcement against Precision Castparts, while the Health Authority says the spill no longer poses a public risk.
Oregon environmental regulators say a chemical leak from Precision Castparts Corp. killed multiple fish in Johnson Creek and may lead to financial penalties for the company.
The spill occurred between Sept. 17 and Sept. 19, when nearly 400 gallons of sodium hydroxide and other chemicals entered the southeast Portland creek, according to a notice the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality sent the company Friday, Oct. 23. Dead fish were found along a two-mile stretch.
DEQ said the company committed what the agency described as “the most serious violations” of Oregon environmental law. The agency is considering enforcement action; it has not announced a penalty. Precision Castparts did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and calls to staff at its Johnson Creek facility went to voicemail.
The leak included 394 gallons of chemicals, the company told DEQ about a week after reporting a discharge, the agency’s notice says. The company first reported the discharge on Sept. 28, after DEQ officials began investigating reports of foamy water and fish deaths near the Springwater Corridor on Sept. 18. Precision Castparts told regulators there were no continuing discharges.
Sodium hydroxide is corrosive. The company also released smaller amounts of sodium hydrosulfide and sodium chlorite, which can harm people and the environment, according to DEQ.
Oregon Health Authority spokesperson Jonathan Modie said Friday that the spill presents no ongoing public risk. He said the chemicals do not persist or accumulate in the environment or fish, and that creek flow would have diluted and neutralized the material within hours after the discharge stopped.
Precision Castparts, a Portland-based manufacturer of metal castings for aircraft engines and gas turbines, is owned by Berkshire Hathaway and operates 120 factories worldwide. Its southeast Portland facility has a history of environmental issues. In 2011, a power outage led to an orange nitrogen dioxide plume, prompting some nearby residents to shelter in their homes. In 2022, the company agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over air pollution from the facility.
A 2016 study found toxic levels of heavy metals in moss collected from nearby neighborhoods, spurring changes to Oregon’s air-toxics rules and the creation of the Cleaner Air Oregon framework. State health officials later concluded that the facility’s air emissions posed a low health risk during the 2016-to-2018 monitoring period, while noting emissions may have been higher in earlier decades.