Chemical find forces a cleanup

A Box Elder County man's storage units were found stuffed with cans of unknown hazardous chemicals, requiring a hazmat team to spend days cleaning them out.

Box Elder County police received a call Thursday that bays in storage facilities in South Willard and Perry were filled with legal chemicals, some of which were mixed together and potentially dangerous.

The elderly man had collected various chemicals after retirement as a chemist to experiment with propellant for model rockets and creating a waterproof resin for roofs. A family friend was cleaning out the bays at Easy Access in South Willard and Double D Storage in Perry when he found the chemicals.

"It will take days and days," said Box Elder County Chief Deputy Kevin Potter. "(Workers) will have to go one by one in suits to clear out every container in seven storage bays."

Police said the paint cans might be filled with paint, but some of them contain mixed chemicals, so every can must be checked.

Both storage facilities will be off limits to people for at least a few days.

— Lana Groves