Chemical leak, fire spark WV shelter-in-place warning
Erin Beck , Staff Writer
August 31, 2016
Residents and others near a Mason County chemical plant were told to shelter in place for about an hour Wednesday after a phosphorus fire at the plant.
Emergency officials warned people within two miles of the ICL Chemical plant in Gallipolis Ferry, including students in a nearby school, to shelter in place.
Around 12:08 p.m., the chemical began leaking in the phosphorus unloading station, resulting in a fire, according to a statement from Kurt Dailey, health, safety and environmental director for ICL. The company — which the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined in 2009 after two leaks occurred in the same day — sounded an emergency-alert siren in response.
The fire caused a “cloud to form,” according to callers to the state’s emergency-spill line.
“Phosphorus fires create a great deal of smoke,” the company’s statement said. “The leak and resultant fire was controlled by plant personnel and no one was injured during this event.”
Dailey did not respond to multiple phone calls or emails asking for more specific details of the incident and possible health or environmental effects.
Kelley Gillenwater, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, said the company reported that the leak began in a trailer-mounted tank, possibly because of a gasket failure. The company’s own automatic sprinkler system was activated, according to Gillenwater.
The company’s statement said it is investigating the cause of the leak.
Gillenwater said the DEP has asked how much of the chemical was released, but it hadn’t been informed as of Wednesday evening.
She said the DEP had an emergency response team on the way Wednesday, but that the team turned around when the company gave the “all-clear” at about 1 p.m.
Gillenwater said she didn’t know why the shelter-in-place warning was lifted. “That wasn’t a DEP decision,” she said.
Charles Blake, director of Mason County emergency services, said he made the decision after a local fire chief spoke to company officials and they agreed that the “imminent danger” was over.
Neither Gillenwater nor Blake knew if any on-site air monitoring was done Wednesday.
“We weren’t given that information,” Blake said.
Multiple callers to Mason County 911 reported smoke, fire, an explosion and the sound of the facility’s emergency-alert siren, according to a news release from the Mason County Office of Emergency Services. Police, medics, firefighters and state road workers responded to the plant, located between W.Va. 2 and the Ohio River.
A dispatcher said residents within two miles of the plant were told to shelter in place “as a precautionary measure.” That area included the Beale School.
W.Va. 2 was closed during the incident. Ohio River marine traffic and CSX railroad train traffic also was halted.
All first responders had cleared the scene by about 1:30 p.m., according to the statement from the Mason Office of Emergency Services.
Gillenwater said a Division of Air Quality inspector and a Division of Water and Waste Management inspector would visit the site today.
ICL Chemical, formerly known as Israel Chemicals, acquired the plant in 2007 when it bought the plant’s owner, American chemical company Supresta. The plant was formerly owned by Dutch chemical company Akzo Nobel.
The same plant was fined in 2009 for workplace safety and health violations after two leaks occurred on the same day. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for seven serious violations, one repeat violation and one other-than-serious violation. OSHA settled that case — originally $44,000 in fines — for $29,500, according to OSHA records.
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UPDATE: WV DEP to inspect Mason County chemical plant after fire causes shelter-in-place
By WSAZ News Staff, Kaitlynn LeBeau |
Updated: Wed 7:59 PM, Aug 31, 2016
UPDATE 8/31/16 @ 6:53 p.m.
MASON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says it will be inspecting a Mason County chemical plant Thursday after a fire at the plant Wednesday caused a temporary shelter for neighbors.
courtesy of Tara Supple
The WV DEP tweeted this statement out Wednesday evening: "Tomorrow we will have inspectors from our Division of Water & Waste and our Division of Air Quality onsite at the ICL facility."
The fire happened at the ICL chemical plant in Gallipolis Ferry, prompting a shelter-in-place for the area.
Plant officials say no one was hurt in the incident, which led to the temporary closure of state Route 2 in that area and a shelter in place for a 2-mile radius.
"We're very concerned about our community and the people that work here at the plant, and we are usually very cautious and sound that alarm whenever we feel the potential for anything leaving the plant site and going into a neighborhood," said ICL Health Safety and Environmental Director Kurt Dailey. "It doesn't happen particularly often, but it's part of our protocol to make sure we protect the health and safety of the community and the children in the school just down the road from us."
Dailey explained that a leak developed at 12:06 p.m. from the plant's phosphorus unloading facility, causing a fire that led to the shelter-in-place alert.
"Phosphorus fires create a great deal of smoke, and this leak and resulting fire was controlled by plant personnel quickly, and no one was injured during this event," Dailey said. "Plant personnel coordinated with the local 911 center and fire departments to control traffic near the plant, as well as the rail traffic."
The all-clear was announced about 1 p.m.
Dailey said educators at nearby schools know the shelter-in-place protocol, which keeps any kind of leaked material from getting inside a building.
At Beale Elementary, which is just down the road on Rt. 2, went right into their drill according to Principal Pat Brumfield.
"We practice this several times throughout the year," said Brumfield. "The students reacted marvelously, they had no problem with it. They just assumed it was a drill so they weren't panicky."
Brumfield said students were out on the playground when they heard the siren go off at the plant. She says ICL also called them to notify them about the shelter-in-place.
About 300 kids go to the elementary school, Brumfield said. She told WSAZ they immediately followed protocol which was to take the kids and staff to the far end of the building, seal the doors with plastic, turn off the air conditioning so no gas could get in through the vents, bring drinks, snacks and any medications the kids may need if they are stuck for an extended period of time, and throw out any cafeteria food that could have been contaminated.
Brumfield says everything went off without a hitch because the staff stayed calm and worked quickly.
"We were set for quite some time if anything lasting happened," said Brumfield. "They [the staff] were all very professional. No one was upset and panicky and so that kept the kids calm. It just worked out really well today."
The superintendent also commended the staff for how they handled what could have been a high-stress situation.
The school did not have to dismiss early because the shelter-in-place was lifted, but Brumfield says buses were on standby just in case. She says the communication between the plant, the school and the 911 center also helped the afternoon go smoothly.
"It's a really great working relationship that we have," said Brumfield. "We're their [ICL] first call. When they have an incident they call us first and then when it's all clear they call us first."
Dailey also explained that phosphorus is a solid that becomes a liquid when it's heated to a certain temperature. It spontaneously combusts when it comes in contact with oxygen.
There is no current estimate of damage to the ICL plant which manufactures hydraulic fluids and chemicals used in the plastics business.
UPDATE 8/31/16 @ 2:35 p.m.
MASON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- More details are being released about a temporary shelter in place issued Wednesday afternoon for Gallipolis Ferry residents near the ICL chemical plant.
Plant officials say no one was hurt in the incident, which led to the temporary closure of state Route 2 in that area and a shelter in place for a 2-mile radius.
"We're very concerned about our community and the people that work here at the plant, and we are usually very cautious and sound that alarm whenever we feel the potential for anything leaving the plant site and going into a neighborhood," said ICL Health Safety and Environmental Director Kurt Dailey. "It doesn't happen particularly often, but it's part of our protocol to make sure we protect the health and safety of the community and the children in the school just down the road from us."
Dailey explained that a leak developed at 12:06 p.m. from the plant's phosphorus unloading facility, causing a fire that led to the shelter-in-place alert.
"Phosphorus fires create a great deal of smoke, and this leak and resulting fire was controlled by plant personnel quickly, and no one was injured during this event," Dailey said. "Plant personnel coordinated with the local 911 center and fire departments to control traffic near the plant, as well as the rail traffic."
The all-clear was announced about 1 p.m.
Dailey said educators at nearby schools know the shelter-in-place protocol, which keeps any kind of leaked material from getting inside a building.
He also explained that phosphorus is a solid that becomes a liquid when it's heated to a certain temperature. It spontaneously combusts when it comes in contact with oxygen.
There is no current estimate of damage to the ICL plant which manufactures hydraulic fluids and chemicals used in the plastics business.
UPDATE 8/31/16 @ 1:20 p.m.
MASON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A shelter in place has been lifted early Wednesday afternoon after an incident at the ICL chemical plant in Gallipolis Ferry, Mason County 911 reports.
State Route 2 also was temporarily closed in that area, but it has since reopened.
An incident happened at the plant around noon, and a large vapor cloud was visible in the area just afterward.
Details about what happened are unavailable at this time.
Keep checking WSAZ Mobile and WSAZ.com for the latest on this story.
ORIGINAL STORY 8/31/16 @ 12:26 p.m.
MASON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A shelter in place has been issued for a 2-mile radius around the ICL chemical plant in Gallipolis Ferry, Mason County 911 reports.
The incident was reported just after noon.
Mason County 911 also reports that state Route 2 is closed in both directions in that area.
Other details are unavailable at this time.
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Chemical leak, fire results in shelter in place
Shelter in place later lifted after incident at ICL-IP
By Beth Sergent - bsergent@civitasmedia.com
Traffic on W.Va. 2 came to a stop on Wednesday afternoon in both directions near the ICL-IP America chemical plant in Gallipolis Ferry. A shelter in place was issued and later lifted, after a phosphorous leak and subsequent fire at the facility.
GALLIPOLIS FERRY, W.Va. — A phosphorous leak and subsequent fire at ICL-IP America on Wednesday resulted in a shelter in place for area residents and halted traffic on W.Va. 2 in both directions.
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Mason County Office of Emergency Services Deputy Director RC Faulk reported at approximately 12:08 p.m., the Mason County E-911 Center began receiving “multiple calls” reporting an emergency at the ICL America chemical facility in Gallipolis Ferry. Faulk said these calls contained reports of an “explosion, fire, smoke” and that the community emergency alert siren was sounding at the facility.
Faulk said the Mason County E-911 Center immediately conducted a multi-disciplinary response of emergency responders consisting of Mason County Sheriff’s Department, Mason County Emergency Medical Services, Mason County Emergency Management, Point Pleasant Fire Department, West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Division of Highways. Additional notifications were made to the Gallia County Ohio 911 Center and Gallia County Emergency Management, CSX Railroad and the United States Coast Guard.
At 12:14 p.m., a shelter in place was issued for the Gallipolis Ferry area, including at Beale Elementary School.
Faulk stated contact was made with Jack Cullen, superintendent of Mason County Schools and the principal at Beale, adding they were already following the shelter in place protocols.
“Any time there is an emergency in the Gallipolis Ferry area, we always have a heightened level of awareness due to the Beale School and the impact that any emergency may have on the staff and students in addition to the community members who live there,” Faulk said.
Officials with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection are investigating the incident, in conjunction with other state and local officials, according to Kelley Gillenwater with WVDEP.
In a statement to the Point Pleasant Register, Gillenwater said as of Wednesday afternoon, ICL-IP reported to WVDEP’s Division of Air Quality, that the leak occurred from a trailer-mounted iso-tank.
She explained: “The material was white phosphorous, which is a raw material used in a process at the plant. The company suspects a gasket failure but we don’t have any details about that yet. The iso-tank, prior to transloading, is heated, which creates additional pressure inside the tank. Therefore, if there is a loose or failed gasket or any sort of integrity issue with the system, a leak could occur. We’ve asked for details about the size of the tank (iso-tank sizes vary) and the amount of phosphorous released but haven’t received that information yet.
The company had a deluge system in place – an automatic sprinkler system. The water released blanketed the material to help keep it from reacting with oxygen, which dampened the fire and cloud.”
Gillenwater added WVDEP were sending a couple of inspectors to the plant on Thursday, one from the Division of Air Quality and one from the Division of Water and Waste Management’s Environmental Enforcement group. WVDEP hopes to know more following that inspection, Gillenwater said.
There were questions from residents about whether or not the “cloud” they saw near the plant posed a health hazard. Gillenwater clarified WVDEP’s role in this regard, saying, that agency only deals with environmental issues and doesn’t have the expertise or jurisdiction to comment on health risks. As of Wednesday evening, ICL Health Safety and Environmental Director Kurt Dailey, said cleanup had been underway and therefore calculations were still being made to determine how much of the chemical was released, adding he couldn’t speculate on the exact amounts but “we don’t expect it to be” a health hazard. Still, Dailey said if someone was feeling ill, of course they should seek medical attention and anyone with any questions should feel free to call the plant.
Faulk said the “all-clear” was given at approximately 1:10 p.m., roughly an hour after Mason County 911 was alerted, and as of Wednesday afternoon. All response units had left the facility and the emergency was deemed over and the incident was closed out by Mason County OES, at 1:32 p.m. on Wednesday.
Faulk added, in addition to fire and emergency medical personnel on scene, standing by at a local command post were the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Mason County Sheriff’s Department conducting traffic operations to close Huntington Road (W.Va. 2) in both directions, the Ohio River marine traffic was suspended via the United States Coast Guard and CSX Railroad halted train traffic in the area due to the emergency so as not to pass a train through a hazardous materials incident, or cut off access to the facility for first responders due to the location of the railroad.
Dailey praised the first responders, employees and community members for an “outstanding job and response” to the situation. Dailey confirmed there were no injuries at the plant during the incident.
In addition to the company’s sirens, which are regularly tested, many in the community and beyond were alerted about the situation by a CodRed alert message distributed for this event. CodeRed is the county-wide emergency alert system that debuted earlier this year. Residents can sign up for these alerts by visiting the Mason County OES website at www.masoncoutyoes.com.