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