The trash fire which started at a trash facility in Orrington on October 1 has finally been extinguished, according to Orrington’s Assistant Fire Chief, Chad Bean.
A statement released on Facebook Friday by the Orrington Fire Department explained that they have been on the scene for over nine and a half days and will continue to be as “progress is being made to get rid of this material in a safe manner over the next day or two.”
Although the fire was contained within hours of breaking out, officials indicated at the time that it would likely take several days for it to be completely extinguished.
“The health and safety of our citizens and neighboring towns has been our main focus since this fire started over a week ago and with many hands, this high priority objective was accomplished,” Assistant Chief Bean wrote.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Orrington Fire Chief Scott Stewart said last week that the “cause [of the fire] will likely never be truly determined,” noting that the source was “likely within the pile.”
The owners of the facility — Eagle Point Energy Center (EPEC) — had previously speculated that the fire had been started by a lithium-ion battery, fire department officials reportedly expressed skepticism.
During a press conference last week, a company representative reportedly posited other potential causes, including a battery, propane tank or spontaneous combustion.
Lithium-ion batteries have previously caused numerous fires at the facility, and in November of 2023, a trash pile spontaneously combusted.
According to WMTW, officials from EPEC have previously said that the material involved in the fire remains from when the facility was still owned by Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC).
They went on to suggest that PERC had “improperly disposed” of roughly 8,000 tons of solid waste before being foreclosed on in May of last year. In conjunction with the Town of Orrington, EPEC has since spent more than half a million dollars “remediating” the site.
A spokesman for EPEC went on to explain that the Center has not been accepting new trash and has managed to reduce the existing trash pile by nearly half over the course of several months.
In a recently-filed lawsuit against EPEC, PERC has — among other things — reportedly argued that the new owners should not be blaming them for the fire, suggesting that they were aware of the fire risks that existed.
Although the fire has now been fully extinguished, concerns remain regarding potential lingering health impacts from the blaze.
A report released by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) several days after the fire first broke out, however, revealed that only very low levels of hazardous chemicals were detected in the area.
All nineteen chemical with short-term toxicity guidelines included in these tests were found to have a ratio well below 1, the threshold over which a concentration is considered to represent a potential health concern.
The highest ration found in the area surrounding the Orrington trash fire was a .2 ration of benzene measured at the Edythe Dyer Community Library, five times below the “toxicity guideline” for the chemical.
At low exposure levels, airborne benzene can potentially result in drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, confusion, and an irregular heartbeat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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