Eastman investigating steam line rupture

KINGSPORT — What sounded like "whirring" or a "jet engine" for some Kingsport residents on Tuesday evening was a steam line rupture at Eastman Chemical Co. A three-inch steam line ruptured at the company's Kingsport site Tuesday evening a little after 5 p.m., causing a "rapid, audible release" of steam into the atmosphere, the company said in a statement to Six Rivers Media on Wednesday evening. Eastman said the steam stopped venting into the atmosphere around 8 p.m., and after that other lower pressure systems continued to vent "as intended and needed for process purposes" until about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. A facility that has permits to operate by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is not required to notify the department if the facility only experiences a steam release, said TDEC spokesperson Jennifer Donnals. She also said TDEC is "aware and monitoring the situation" and has not been notified by Eastman. Kingsport has a standard protocol for events that would activate the Kingsport Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said Kingsport Communications Specialist Matthew Lane. When the EOC is activated the city notifies residents through Hyper-Reach, a mass notification system that sends texts and emails about "important" events happening in the community to residents and visitors. Lane said Hyper-Reach is used if there is a safety concern. Emergency events are also posted to the Kingsport Alerts Facebook page. Information about the steam rupture Tuesday evening was posted to the Kingsport Alerts Facebook page. "When an event doesn't rise to the level of EOC activation, the city is at the mercy of the industrial facility for receiving information," Lane said. "Sometimes the city receives info at the same time as local media. When that information is received we will post it on our Kingsport Alerts Facebook page." Kingsport Fire Department Public Information Officer Barry Brickey said his department responded for a mutual aid standby Tuesday evening but was released not long after. Eastman said it is standard safety protocol for the KFD to be on standby if resources are needed in addition to Eastman's own fire and emergency response team. "We take these events very seriously," Eastman said in a statement. "When an event like this occurs, we conduct a detailed investigation to ensure we understand fully what occurred and what actions need to be taken to prevent recurrence." Jorgelina Manna-Rea is a Report for America Corps member reporting on issues relating to the environment for Six Rivers Media.