EPA takes charge of Detroit-area cleanup of vaping supplies warehouse destroyed by explosions

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Michigan — Federal authorities are leading a cleanup of the hazardous remains of a Detroit-area vaping supplies warehouse, five months after explosions destroyed the building, threw debris miles away and killed a man.

Goo Smoke Shop in Macomb County’s Clinton Township was filled with vape pens, butane canisters, nitrous oxide cylinders and lithium batteries. While much of the debris has been recovered from the area, more work remains to be done.

“We don’t know what we’re going to find there,” Sean Kane of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told reporters on Tuesday, although more butane and nitrous oxide are likely.

“We’re actually going to go in and start separating out all the hazardous materials, and we’re going to completely remove everything you see in the background,” Kane said.

Behind a fence, the 28,000-square-foot building lies in ruins. Its roof collapsed during the March fire and explosions. Heaps of charred, twisted metal remain, framed by a few steel girders.

“We will be ramping up operations after Labor Day with more personnel on site,” said Kane, who is coordinating the effort.

Authorities said the disaster was caused by poor storage of volatile materials. owner has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 19-year-old man who was hit by a nitrous oxide canister at a distance of 400 meters.

Kane said the EPA took on a larger role after talks between the government and responsible parties about cleanup stalled. The estimated cost is more than $2 million.

“There is a stockpile of materials here that the local fire department and the state of Michigan were not aware of,” Kane said.

Clinton Township’s top elected official, Supervisor Bob Cannon, said the EPA has “taken responsibility by the horns” and has been “terrific.”

The owner said through his attorney that he doesn’t have enough money to clean up the mess, Cannon said.

“When they’re done, this property will look beautiful and it will be up for sale. We’ll have something to be proud of again,” he said.

___

Follow Ed White on https://twitter.com/edwritez