A
Clear Lake firefighter hoses off a Mason City hazmat responder Friday
after responding to a report of a chlorine gas leak at the Clear Lake
water treatment plant.
JULY 17, 2015
JULY 17, 2015
CLEAR LAKE, IOWA
A chlorine leak at Clear Lake’s Water Treatment Plant was contained Friday but not before officials evacuated nearby homes.
Clear Lake City Administrator Scott Flory said that a water plant worker called the Fire Department at 8:36 a.m. after smelling chlorine in the downtown facility adjacent to City Park.
Officials were unsure how long the chemical had been leaking, how much had leaked or what caused the leak, but said it was a hazardous situation. The plant has about 1,500 pounds of the chemical in multiple 175-pound cylinders, according to Flory.
A strong chlorine smell was evident two blocks northeast of the plant at First Avenue South and South Third Street about 9:30 a.m.
A toxic yellow-green gas, chlorine can irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system. It can be fatal if inhaled in extreme concentrations.
No injuries were reported.
The leak was contained shortly after noon, according to Clear Lake Fire Department Captain Jim Finstad. Dressed in red hazardous material suits, North Iowa Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team members initially entered the facility around 11 a.m.
Finstad said the building was turned back over to public works, streets reopened and evacuations lifted after the plant was ventilated and free of the gas.
Homes within a one-block radius of the facility had been evacuated as a precaution. City Beach and South Shore Drive from Fourth Avenue North to City Park had also been closed.
"Everything is back to normal now," Finstad said Friday afternoon. "We located the problem, which was nothing really major and something that could be easily fixed."
Finstad said the malfunction was traced to a gas line which may have cracked. It has since been repaired.
The water plant remained operational on Friday, since its system can be run remotely.
The Clear Lake Police Department, Clear Lake Public Works, Mason City Fire Department and Mason City Fire medics provided assistance at the scene.
Flory said the lake is not in any danger, since chlorine is a gas, not a liquid.
A chlorine leak at Clear Lake’s Water Treatment Plant was contained Friday but not before officials evacuated nearby homes.
Clear Lake City Administrator Scott Flory said that a water plant worker called the Fire Department at 8:36 a.m. after smelling chlorine in the downtown facility adjacent to City Park.
Officials were unsure how long the chemical had been leaking, how much had leaked or what caused the leak, but said it was a hazardous situation. The plant has about 1,500 pounds of the chemical in multiple 175-pound cylinders, according to Flory.
A strong chlorine smell was evident two blocks northeast of the plant at First Avenue South and South Third Street about 9:30 a.m.
A toxic yellow-green gas, chlorine can irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system. It can be fatal if inhaled in extreme concentrations.
No injuries were reported.
The leak was contained shortly after noon, according to Clear Lake Fire Department Captain Jim Finstad. Dressed in red hazardous material suits, North Iowa Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team members initially entered the facility around 11 a.m.
Finstad said the building was turned back over to public works, streets reopened and evacuations lifted after the plant was ventilated and free of the gas.
Homes within a one-block radius of the facility had been evacuated as a precaution. City Beach and South Shore Drive from Fourth Avenue North to City Park had also been closed.
"Everything is back to normal now," Finstad said Friday afternoon. "We located the problem, which was nothing really major and something that could be easily fixed."
Finstad said the malfunction was traced to a gas line which may have cracked. It has since been repaired.
The water plant remained operational on Friday, since its system can be run remotely.
The Clear Lake Police Department, Clear Lake Public Works, Mason City Fire Department and Mason City Fire medics provided assistance at the scene.
Flory said the lake is not in any danger, since chlorine is a gas, not a liquid.