For the second time in three months, an early-morning ammonia leak at a cold storage facility shut down offramps on the 710 Freeway as well as a stretch of Anaheim St. while Long Beach Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team contained the issue.
A smell of ammonia in the area of Anaheim St. and Daisy Ave. at approximately 3:30AM drew LBFD response to Long Beach Cold Storage and Logistics, which was the site of another closure-prompting ammonia leak on February 2. LBFD spokesman Matt Dobberpuhl said that the streets surrounding the facility were closed to traffic and residents were being asked to stay indoors, but it appeared that the situation began to clear and streets were reopening as of around 8AM Monday.
In the February incident at Long Beach Cold Storage and Logistics, Hazmat units plugged a leak coming from a diffuser tank that had leaked out around 150 gallons of industrial ammonia. Crews were able to stop the material from draining into the nearby Los Angeles River.
It is unclear if this situation was caused by a similar leak, but a company representative was on the scene working with firefighters to determine the best way to close valves and handle the problem, Dobberpuhl said.
Ammonia is the most common refridgerant for many large cold-storage facilities and although it is considered toxic, its strong odor usually allows spills to be detected before they reach toxic levels. Two calls of this kind to the same facility within months of one another, however, is an uncommon occurance. The last ammonia leak reported at an L.A. County cold-storage operation was in December at a Downtown L.A. facility. No calls to that location have been reported previously or since.
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