EPA expects cleanup at site of deadly Clinton Township explosion to last 100 days
(CBS DETROIT) - The EPA provided an update Tuesday morning on its cleanup efforts at the site of March's deadly explosion in Clinton Township.
The EPA was recently given the go-ahead to begin cleaning up the site of the former Goo Smoke Shop and Select Distributors located near the corner of 15 Mile & Groesbeck Highway. Officials say the building exploded on March 4 because of thousands of nitrous oxide and butane cans that were stored inside.
The explosion caused several canisters to propel, with debris raining down more than a mile away from the building's location. Turner Salter, 19, was killed after he was hit in the head by a piece of shrapnel. A firefighter was also injured in the explosion when a piece of debris went through a windshield and clipped the side of his face.
The EPA has budgeted $2.5 million for the cleanup process.
"Our efforts are going to be primarily to reduce the imminent threat, which would be the removal of everything above ground here, mainly the compressed gas cylinders of N20, cans of ultra refined butane and the lithium-ion batteries that are in the vape cans and cartridges," said Sean Kane, an EPA on-scene coordinator.
The cleanup process is expected to take around 100 days on-site.
"Be patient. It's a work in process," Kane said. "It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. ... But the first couple weeks of a large project like this, you have to feel things out."
The owner of the building and business, 31-year-old Noor Kestou of Commerce, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in April. Kestou appeared last week in a Macomb County court for a pretrial conference.
In April, Kestou was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport before boarding a flight to Hong Kong. At the time, it was believed that Kestou had a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, but his defense attorney has since provided proof that Kestou did not intend to flee the country and that he had a return ticket.
Kestou is due back in court on Oct. 28 for a pretrial hearing.
"We're ready to move on. This is a bad spot on our community and we're ready to clean it up," Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon recently said in an interview.
