The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency released a statement Friday about the Sherwin-Williams diesel spill that happened Monday.
RELATED: About 100 gallons of fuel leak into Cuyahoga River following spill at Sherwin-Williams
Cleanup efforts began Monday after a backup generator had an equipment failure and spilled about 100 gallons of diesel, with a portion of it entering the Cuyahoga River, the Ohio EPA said in the release.
Sherwin-Williams hired environmental contractors to help clean the spill, and containment booms were placed at the outfall of the storm sewer to collect any residual diesel fuel, the release said.
On Wednesday morning, the Ohio EPA said it received a call from a citizen about a sheen in the Cuyahoga River from the diesel spill.
Upon investigation, the Ohio EPA said the diesel was trapped under the ice in the river and was not initially seen by the environmental contractors that were cleaning up the spill on Monday.
The Ohio EPA said it melted the ice to release the trapped fuel and placed a vessel into the river to direct the fuel toward the containment booms in the river. Additionally, vacuum trucks are being used to remove contaminated water from the river.
Sherwin-Williams met with the United States Coast Guard and the Cleveland Fire Department and was issued a Notice of Violation for the spill, the release said.
On Friday, a Sherwin-Williams representative provided this statement on the ongoing cleanup efforts:
"I can confirm that cleanup efforts began on Monday, January 22 and will continue until we have recovered as much of the spill as possible."
