The fire burning at an Orrington trash plant will continue to impair air quality Monday.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection forecasts that particle pollution will be moderate across midcoast and eastern interior Maine. That’s in major part due to the still-smoldering fire in Orrington. The updated forecast was issued at 6:12 a.m.
On Tuesday night, a massive fire broke out at Eagle Point Energy Center, formerly known as Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. That blaze has been contained, but the trash pile continues to smolder, and firefighters are on the scene 24/7 to extinguish flare ups as they happen.
That’s in part because firefighters, who came from as far away as Levant and Eddington, were unable to safely enter the 200-by-400-foot building where the blaze is burning on the tipping floor.
During a Friday morning news conference, Orrington Fire Chief Scott Stewart said there’s still no concrete timeline for when the blaze will be put out.
Stewart said that about 1.5 million gallons of water have been dumped on the burning trash pile, but that has been unable to get deep into it to douse the heart of the blaze.
Stewart added that the “cause will likely never be truly determined,” noting that the source is “likely within the pile.”
The owners of Eagle Point Energy Center have speculated that a lithium-ion battery may have sparked the conflagration, an explanation met with skepticism from Orrington fire officials. But on Friday a representative of the company, Evan Coleman, suggested a battery, propane tank or spontaneous combustion could have caused the fire.
Improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries have caused many blazes at the facility on Industrial Way over the years, and a trash pile there spontaneously combusted in November 2023.
Coleman blasted the facility’s previous owners for “negligence,” saying they left 10,000 tons of trash sitting there. He noted that Eagle Point Energy hasn’t been accepting trash and has reduced the trash pile there by nearly 50 percent over the past several months.
Coleman said that Eagle Point Energy intends to move ahead with refurbishing the facility beginning later this year, with a goal of reopening, accepting trash and resuming energy production in 2025.
In the meantime, Orrington and Hampden residents have been advised to keep their windows closed because of the significant smoke given off by the fire. Bangor schools on Thursday turned off external air handling units and moved recess and physical education classes inside.
Questions and concerns remain over potential health impacts from the fire. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collected particulates and dust near the facility Wednesday and Thursday and found “nothing hazardous.”
A report released Friday night showed that low levels of benzene and other chemicals had been detected in air samples from the area.
Benzene, which can cause blood issues and even leukemia after long-term exposure, was most present in those air samples. At low exposure levels, airborne benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, headaches and an irregular heartbeat.
Some progress has been made on the main challenge of extricating the trash in order to fully extinguish the flames, Stewart said Saturday. He expects the bulk of the process to get underway Monday.
That may intermittently increase smoke emissions from the fire Monday, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
If people can smell smoke, they should limit any strenuous physical activities outdoors, particularly very young children, older adults and those with asthma, other respiratory disorders or heart disease, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Moderate levels of particle pollution are expected to linger into Tuesday across the midcoast and eastern interior Maine.
