Paint Primer Has Been Leaking Into Lake Erie Since Saturday at Avon Lake Ford Plant

Avon Lake city officials and local Ford Motor Co. leaders met Monday morning on the shore of Lake Erie to hash out the latest details in an ongoing chemical spill at the auto company’s Ohio Assembly Plant. As the Chronicle Telegram first reported, a stream of “e-coat” paint primer has been leaking into the lake since Saturday.

The leak intersects with the lake at Miller Road Park, just north of the auto plant.

Ford workers began trying to contain and collect the spill on Sunday, once they realized what had happened. (They thought the leak was contained within the plant.) The city’s water plant is closely monitoring intake.

There’s no immediate health hazard, according to Avon Lake officials, but, like other spills that have garnered headlines, the perception of environmental mismanagement alone is enough to concern and galvanize area residents. The CT quoted fisherman Tracy Johnson, saying, “It’s bad enough, we don’t need this. It’s our lake, we’ve just got to treat her like she’s supposed to be treated.”

As Johnson alludes, the lake is in dire straits these days, with a moral and social reckoning on the horizon. 

This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2017.