Nevada environmental health investigate viral video of alleged chemical waste dumping
A viral video circulating since Tuesday that purports to be illegal chemical waste dumping is being investigated by Nevada environmental health officials. A Mound House company acknowledge to the Reno Gazette-Journal that it is the company depicted in the video.
The 1 minute, 51 second video has appeared on Reddit and other social media channels. it was posted by a person with the name of Luke Murray and has generated nearly 500,000 views.
Nevada environmental health officials say they are trying to determine the authenticity of the video and alleged dumping and the exact location. The title of the video says "Illegal dumping by NV company."
Though the name of the foundry in the video isn't identified, a story published Wednesday by the Reno Gazette-Journal notes that a spokesman for Production Pattern & Foundry in Mound House acknowledged it is the company depicted.
“This has caught everybody by surprise,” spokesman Craig Banko told the RGJ. “We found out about it this morning.”
In a statement Wednesday, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection said it "has received reports related to the YouTube video and is currently investigating to determine the extent and veracity of the claims."
A person shooting the video says the chemical is sludge used from a parts washing machine. One barrel in the video has a label Hocut 795-H, a metal working fluid. That same person said after the barrels are dumped, they are to burn the remaining liquid out of the barrels. He said it was filmed on March 3, 2016.