EPA Begins Cleanup of Clinton Township Warehouse Explosion Site

Lina PortmanAugust 21, 2024

1 2 minutes read

EPA Begins Cleanup of Clinton Township Warehouse Explosion Site

The Environmental Protection Agency began cleanup this week in Clinton Township at the site of a warehouse explosion, the agency said.

On March 4, a fire and explosions destroyed a vaping plant on 15 Mile Road and scattered debris up to 2 miles away, township officials said. Turner Lee Salter, 19, was killed in the blast, and firefighter Matt Myers was injured. The EPA removed drums containing hazardous materials from the site earlier this year, but other debris from the fire remains, Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon said.

Rachel Bassler, an EPA spokeswoman, said the agency plans to issue a news release Wednesday on the status of the cleanup. She said cleanup of the site began Monday. The EPA is not considering adding the site to the Superfund National Priorities List at this time, she said.

Businesses in the area were damaged by the blast, and investigators representing those companies are investigating the site, Cannon said. Private investigators were given access to the site Monday and Tuesday and showed the EPA areas they are focusing on that are covered in debris, he said. The EPA will uncover those areas for investigators.

Cleanup is not “just a matter of loading debris into a truck,” Cannon said.

“There are a lot of things that go into a cleanup, and one of them is making sure the air quality in the area remains safe for all of us who live here, work here and drive through here,” he said.

In April, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido charged Noor Kestou, 31, with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Salter, who was struck in the head by flying debris from the explosion a quarter-mile away. Kestou owned the building where Select Distributors and Goo Smoke Shop operated on 15 Mile.

A probable cause conference for Kestou was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but it was postponed until Oct. 28, said Dawn Fraylick, communications director for the Macomb County prosecutor's office.

Lucido and Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said in April that thousands of cans of nitric oxide and butane were being illegally stored in the building.

Cannon said the public should not visit the site.

“When (the EPA) is done, it's going to be a clean site,” he said. “I hope the owner of the property gets a real estate agent, puts a 'for sale' sign on the property, and people come and look at it, build a nice building and a good deal for our community.”

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Lina Portman

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