ROCKWELL DEFENDS SPILL ACTIONS : COMPANY SAYS IT FOLLOWED LAW.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

Though a county environmental specialist has charged that Rockwell Science Center employees failed to contact state officials after a Christmas night coolant spill, the company contends it followed legal procedures.

The liquid - up to 36,000 gallons of 30 percent ethylene glycol and water - poured from a malfunctioning air-conditioning system, with some reaching Conejo Creek, according to company spokesman Terry Francisco. The chemical is a common coolant that in large doses can cause harm to humans and wildlife.

California law requires a company to report spills to the Office of Emergency Services in Sacramento and to an appropriate local agency, according to Greg Smith, environmental specialist for the county of Ventura's Environmental Health Division. The law requires companies to make the report immediately after a spill is discovered, Smith said.

Rockwell employees began contacting local agencies at 3 a.m., more than three hours after the spill was discovered, Francisco said.

At least one of those calls went to a voice mail system at the county's Environmental Health Division, Smith said. The agency was not contacted again until 11 a.m., eight hours later, he added.

Some of the liquid poured into Conejo Creek and was carried in the rain-swollen stream about 15 miles to Mugu Lagoon. The remaining portion flowed into floor drains in the plant, Francisco said.

Liquid pouring into the floor drains flowed through closed pipes to the Hill Canyon Waste Water Treatment Plant, said JoAnne Kelly, a water quality analyst for Thousand Oaks.

Investigators remain unclear about when the state Office of Emergency Services was called and about which agency placed the call.

The public learned of the spill more than a week later, when county officials were questioned about it Thursday.

A guard discovered the spill at 11:40 p.m. Christmas Day and called Rockwell personnel, said Francisco. By 12:30 a.m. Rockwell employees had stopped the spill and by 2 a.m. Dec. 26 they determined the extent of the damage, Francisco said.

At 2:40 a.m., employees called International Technology Corp., a professional cleanup company, he said.

Rockwell employees began making calls to local agencies 20 minutes later at 3 a.m., with calls to Ventura County Fire Station No. 30, the National Response Center, which is an arm of the Coast Guard located in Washington D.C., the city of Thousands Oaks Public Works Department and the county Environmental Health Division, Francisco said.

Francisco noted that 20 employees of the Rockwell Science Center are trained in emergency response, which includes knowledge of a Hazardous Materials Contingency Plan and Spill Countermeasure Plan. The center's environmental manager was contacted when the spill was discovered and made what the company contends were the proper notifications, Francisco said.

Francisco could not comment about the state law, or about whether Rockwell employees had unwittingly violated it.

Local agencies had personnel at the spill site the following morning checking for damage. The state Fish and Game Department was not notified until Friday morning, when Robert Harley, also of the county's Environmental Health Division, called that office.

Water quality analysts and wildlife experts concur that rain helped mitigate effects of the spill.

``Dilution is the pollution solution, as they say,'' said Dan Pearson, a biologist at Port Hueneme. ``The rain diluted the solution even further, and it's a fast-moving stream to begin with.''

Ethylene glycol also floats to the surface of water and evaporates quickly, so the chemical would not likely contaminate water for lengthy periods, Pearson said.

In large doses, the chemical can cause illness and death, and it has caused the death of condors that follow the rising scent of the evaporating liquid to its source. The birds are attracted by the sweet-smell to pools of antifreeze sometimes dumped in wildlife areas, Pearson said.

Any standing pools of leaked liquid were cleaned up by day's end Dec. 26, Francisco said, reducing the chance of wildlife drinking high concentrations of the chemical.

Hector Orozco of the Fish and Game Department added that initial investigations showed the antifreeze-like chemical had diluted rapidly, and no dead fish, birds or animals have been found in or near the stream.

No effects were noted on wildlife at Point Mugu Lagoon where the creek ends up, according to Steve Schwartz, head of the natural resources office at the site.

All investigators noted, however, that results of water tests performed at state certified labs would not be available until next week.

Kelly said the city's investigation of the spill's effect on the waste water treatment plant was continuing. The city will bill Rockwell for the cost of that investigation, Kelly said.

At this point, Kelly said, the addition of the chemical to the waste water tanks had not affected the quality of water discharged from the plant. Nor was the spill likely to affect the 26,000 residents in the Camarosa Water District, said John Murray, resource manager for the district.

The district serves eastern Camarillo, the Santa Rosa Valley and small parts of Thousands Oaks and Moorpark. It draws about 40 percent of its supply from aquifers fed in part by the Conejo Creek.

``But we don't believe that the spill will have any effect on the quality of our water,'' said Murray. ``It takes years for water to seep through and it's a fairly fast-moving stream.''

Murray added that, though the stream contributed to the groundwater supply, irrigation and rainfall were larger contributors.