Chlorine gas leak leaves damage, lawsuits ahead in West Virginia September 5, 2016
By MILES LAYTON and CASEY JUNKINS , The Intelligencer
NEW MARTINSVILLE - Bob Heslep guided his forklift Thursday morning to unload a truck filled with fresh mums delivered to the Hannibal Garden Center.
Located near Hannibal, Ohio, the popular garden center along Ohio 7 between Wheeling and Parkersburg was affected by the Aug. 27 chlorine gas leak at the Axiall Corp's chemical plant in southern Marshall County. A chemical cloud from the plant headed south toward New Martinsville and across the Ohio River.
"Thousands of our mums were destroyed by the chlorine gas," said Heslep, owner/manager of the garden center. "We're just going to have to throw them out."
Article Photos
Photo by Miles Layton
Bob Heslep, owner/manager of the Hannibal Garden Center, unloads fresh mums that were delivered Thursday morning. Heslep said thousands of mums and other plants are being replaced at the garden center after they came into contact with a toxic gas cloud Aug. 27 that occurred after a train car leaked chlorine at the Axiall Corp.’s plant near Proctor.
Portions of W.Va. 2 and Ohio 7 were closed for several hours after thousands of gallons of liquid chlorine leaked from a railcar inside Axiall's Natrium plant near Proctor. The incident forced many residents in both Marshall and Wetzel counties to evacuate their homes for several hours, while two workers were hospitalized at the site and released.
Heslep said local fire departments advised him and his employees to immediately evacuate from the garden center. Heslep shook his head as he said, "We were working that morning - we had to leave."
The garden center has since reopened and restocked many of the damaged plants and flowers.
When chlorine gas combines with water, Heslep said, it becomes hydrochloric acid - which is toxic to plants, animals and people. Every so often, motorists can spot trees or plants along the river that appear a little more brown than they should at the outset of fall. Plants that may have had a light coating of morning dew were more affected than those that had been in the sunlight.
Heslep said the garden center's mums, annuals and perennials that were affected by the chlorine may take too long to recover and bloom again, so they are being thrown out and/or turned into compost.
Those forced from their homes for several hours by the chlorine gas cloud are now suing the chemical producer.
Jim Bordas, of Bordas & Bordas, filed the complaint in Marshall County Circuit Court on behalf of Proctor area residents Tim and Rhonda Bohrer and Roy and Darlene Yoho. Bordas said he hopes Circuit Judge Jeffrey Cramer certifies the case as a class-action lawsuit so others affected by the situation can join.
"A tree could be worth $10,000 to $12,000, according to some estimates," Bordas said. "We'll see how many people have issues. They could have dead trees, dead grass, dead shrubs or damaged cars."
The resulting gas cloud forced emergency officials on both sides of the Ohio River to evacuate numerous homes and close portions of Ohio 7 and W.Va. 2.
"These people were forced from their homes and their property was damaged," Bordas said.
There are several counts in the complaint, including negligence, trespassing, private nuisance and public nuisance. The plaintiffs do not seek a specific amount of monetary compensation, but are demanding a jury trial.
"Axiall chose to use a dangerous chemical, liquid chlorine, in its operations at the Proctor plant, which created an abnormally dangerous activity," Bordas asserts in the complaint.
Bordas also maintains Axiall "is strictly liable to the affected residents because of the dangerous nature of the chemical used in its Marshall County operations, which the company allowed to escape."
Bordas said there are no claims of personal injury at this point, but did not rule out the possibility.
On Wednesday, Westlake Chemical Corp. completed its previously announced $3.8 billion acquisition of Axiall.
"Typically, when one company buys another company, they set aside a fund for liabilities," Bordas said.
Officials with Westlake did not respond to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit. However, by acquiring Axiall, company leaders believe the firm will be the third-largest chlor-alkali producer and the second-largest PVC producer in North America.
Axiall formed in early 2013 when PPG Industries sold its chemical business to the former Georgia Gulf Corp., with the combined firm taking the Axiall name. Pittsburgh-based PPG remains a Fortune 500 company manufacturing paint and glass.
Employing several hundred workers at the site along the Ohio River, the Natrium plant has manufactured chemicals, primarily chlorine, but also caustic soda, muriatic acid and calcium hypochlorite.
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Coast Guard closes Ohio River due to chlorine spill
Aug 27th, 2016
NEW
ORLEANS – Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley closed the Ohio River from
mile marker 118 to mile marker 130 near Proctor, West Virginia,
Saturday. A release of liquid chlorine was reported from a rail car at the Axiall Corporation Facility. An unknown amount of product has been released into the ground and air creating a plume that is traveling south down the river.
The West Virginia State Department of Environmental Protection is currently investigating the release.
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Chlorine Leak From Railcar Closes Axiall Corp. Chemical Facility in West Virginia
Nearby communities in the state and in Ohio evacuated, while local roads closed
By
George Stahl Aug. 27, 2016 2:58 p.m. ET
A chlorine leak at an Axiall Corp. chemical plant in West Virginia caused a shutdown of the facility, the evacuation of nearby communities and the closure of local roads, the chemical company said on Saturday.
The leak has been closed off, Axiall said, and emergency crews are evaluating the area of the discharge. One Axiall employee and a contract worker were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. Others were treated at an on-site health facility.
Axiall said a rail tanker car loaded with liquid chlorine developed the leak on Saturday morning inside its Natrium chemical facility, which is located in Marshall County near Proctor, W.Va. The railcar is no longer leaking, but the plant was evacuated and is closed down.
Nearby communities in Proctor; Kent, Ohio; and northern New Martinsville, W.Va., were evacuated, the company said, and state highway 7 in Ohio and highway 2 in West Virginia, as well as the Ohio River, were closed to vehicular traffic. In addition, Axiall said, nearby industrial plants were ordered to have their employees shelter in place.
In June, Westlake Chemical Corp. agreed to buy Axiall for about $2.33 billion, ending a months-long takeover battle between the two companies.
Axiall’s plant in Natrium has had other accidents in the past, according to local reports. In 2014, one worker died after a chemical explosion, and in December, a steam release injured 11 workers.
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Axiall Statement: Chlorine Railcar Leak at Natrium Plant
August 27, 2016 01:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axiall Corporation (NYSE:AXLL) statement: At approximately 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016, a rail tanker car loaded with liquid chlorine developed a leak inside the Axiall Natrium chemical facility, which is located in Marshall County near Proctor, W.Va. The rail car is no longer leaking. Hazmat crews are on site and are evaluating the railcar and area of the leak. The Natrium plant was evacuated and is currently shut down.
Nearby communities in Proctor and Kent, Ohio, and northern New Martinsville, W.Va. were evacuated and state highway 7 in Ohio and highway 2 in West Virginia, as well as the Ohio River, were closed to vehicle traffic. Nearby industrial plants were ordered to have their employees shelter in place.
One Axiall employee and a contract worker were transported to offsite hospitals for treatment; others were treated at an onsite health facility.
About Axiall
Axiall Corporation is a leading integrated chemicals and building products company. Headquartered in Atlanta, Axiall has manufacturing facilities located throughout North America and in Asia to provide industry-leading materials and services to customers. For more information, visit www.axiall.com.
Contacts
Axiall Corporation
Chip Swearngan
corpcommunications@axiall.com =====================
Two people have been transported to the hospital for inhalation injuries and others are being treated at the site of a reported chlorine leak in Marshall County. Officials from Axiall say a rail tanker car loaded with liquid chlorine developed a leak Saturday morning inside the company's facility near Proctor, W.Va.
Updated at 1:50 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27
Statement released from Atlanta-based Axiall Corporation:
At approximately 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016, a rail tanker car loaded with liquid chlorine developed a leak inside the Axiall Natrium chemical facility, which is located in Marshall County near Proctor, W.Va. The rail car is no longer leaking. Hazmat crews are on site and are evaluating the railcar and area of the leak. The Natrium plant was evacuated and is currently shut down.
Nearby communities in Proctor and Kent, Ohio, and northern New Martinsville, W.Va. were evacuated and state highway 7 in Ohio and highway 2 in West Virginia, as well as the Ohio River, were closed to vehicle traffic. Nearby industrial plants were ordered to have their employees shelter in place.
One Axiall employee and a contract worker were transported to offsite hospitals for treatment; others were treated at an onsite health facility.
Updated at 12:50 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27
Two people have been transported to the hospital for inhalation injuries; four or five are being treated on-site, according to Kelley Gillenwater at the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
A rail car at the Axiall site in Marshall County has been reported as the the leak. DEP reports the capacity of the car is estimated to be about 30,000 gallons of pressurized liquid chlorine. The leak was reported at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, but how much chlorine was released is still unclear.
Marshall County emergency officials are reporting a chlorine leak in the northern panhandle along the Ohio River is under control, but a cloud of that resulted from the leak is still moving south toward New Martinsville. Communities continue to be evacuated, but state emergency officials say the cloud is dissipating.
Updated at 11:16 a.m. Saturday, August 27
On Ohio side - state route 7 is shut down; voluntary evacuation, according to Monroe County Sheriff Department.
Original Post:
Law enforcement officials in Marshall County say there’s an uncontrolled chlorine leak at the Axiall plant along Route 2. The leak is about 26 miles south of Wheeling. Route 2 has been shut down and communities to the south, including Kent, West Virginia, are being evacuated. We’ll have more updates as we receive them.
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Gas leak contained, roads still closed
Aug 27, 2016
Miles Layton
For The Times Leader
NEW MARTINSVILLE — A chlorine leak this morning at the Axiall plant in southern Marshall County is now under control, emergency officials said.
The leak was first reported around 8:45 a.m. today, when Marshall County 911 said a chemical cloud from the plant was heading south. Axiall issued a press release that said a rail tanker car loaded with liquid chlorine developed a leak inside the company’s Natrium chemical facility near Proctor.
The company said the rail car is no longer leaking. The company said one of its employees and a contract worker were transported to area hospitals for treatment; others were treated at an onsite health facility.
The company said Hazmat crews are evaluating the railcar and area of the leak that authorities estimated to be 26 miles long. The Natrium plant was evacuated and is currently shut down. W.Va. 2 was closed in that area and the Kent neighborhood was evacuated.
River traffic was restricted in that area. The evacuation order remains in place.
Ohio Route 7 between Clarington and Hannibal was shut down as a precaution in Monroe County. Evacuation in that area is voluntary, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.
Washington Lands’ Volunteer Fire Department and Washington Lands Elementary School are open for people needing some place to go during this event, according to Marshall County 911.
This is not the first industrial accident to affect residents in Kent, as an explosion at the nearby Blue Racer Midstream natural gas processing plant in 2013 sent residents from their home.
In Wetzel County, the New Martinsville Bridge across the Ohio River was closed and residents in the Steelton area — Orchard Drive — and north were evacuated, according to emergency officials. Magnolia High School is being used as a shelter.
New Martinsville Police issued an alert around noon.
“If you smell chlorine, then it would be in your best interest to evacuate immediately rather than waiting on emergency services to come to you. We are working as fast as we can to notify everyone,” the NMPD’s alert said.
Marshall Emergency Management Agency said multiple first responders including Wetzel County fire departments are on scene.
After the chemical leak was reported, Sistersville Mayor Bill Rice and the cityás Water Plant Operator Craig Surface contacted the proper authorities to determine if there was any threat to the city’s water supply from the Ohio River.
“At this time, there is no imminent threat,” according to the city. “The chemicals were released into the air as opposed to directly into the water. While river traffic through the area has been closed, Sistersville’s water supply is unaffected as of this time.”
According to the Axiall’s website, the company is a leading integrated chemicals and building products company. Headquartered in Atlanta, Axiall has manufacturing facilities located throughout North America and in Asia.