Thursday, March 19, 2015

SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED AFTER A CHEMICAL SMELL FROM AN ANTI-CORROSIVE MATERIAL INSIDE THE MENASHA PACKAGING WAREHOUSE IN MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.






MARCH 19, 2015

MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Several hundred people were evacuated after a chemical smell in Madison County, Illinois.

The spill happened at Menasha Packaging warehouse along Gateway Commerce Drive off Highway 111 around 9:09 a.m. Everyone in the warehouse has been evacuated.

Asst. Chief Chris Modrusic with the Pontoon Beach Police Department says a tractor-trailer backed up to unload a roll of printed laminate paper. Originally, he said the roll needs to cure for eight hours, but exhaust fumes, coupled with the chemical odors from the drying ink caused a strong odor.

Modrusic later said an investigation by a hazmat team determined a "core metal part for a rail car wheel" was in the tractor-trailer and covered in an anti-corrosive material that can give off fumes. He believes that material may have somehow gotten on the laminate roll.

As a precaution, the 450 employees inside the building were evacuated.

Modrusic says one person suffered a seizure and two others suffered asthma-like symptoms. Two patients were transported to Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, and the other sent to Anderson Hospital in Maryville. Five other people refused treatment