Lake CountyWednesday, November 4
Morton Salt's Fairport Harbor mine has been shut since an Oct. 22 water breach
The 5AM Mentor team
Morton Salt stopped underground work at its Fairport Harbor mine after discovering a water breach Oct. 22. Everyone was evacuated, and no one was hurt. Cleveland.com reports that the company hasn't said publicly where the water came from, how fast it's coming in or whether it can be controlled.
about 2,000 feetbelow the surface at the Fairport Harbor mine's main production shaft
The mine opened in 1959.
Source: Cleveland.com
- ODNR: no immediate threat to Lake Erie or drinking water
- Lead agency: the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration
- State water or air monitors: none deployed
- Painesville: extra water testing, solely as a precaution
Mike Cook, Painesville's public information officer, told WEWS the city's water superintendent is doing the extra testing. A spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine said the federal agency is leading because the shutdown is being treated as a worker safety issue. Morton said surface activity at the site will be severely limited while the mine is closed, and it gave no timetable for a return underground.
Morton's Fairport Harbor mine went from water breach to shutdown in four days
- 1959Morton's Fairport mine opens.
- Oct. 22Morton finds a water breach and evacuates the mine.
- Oct. 26Morton says underground operations have stopped while experts investigate.
Sources: Cleveland.com, News 5 Cleveland WEWS
Sources: Cleveland.com, News 5 Cleveland WEWS