Chemical leak at a West Virginia plant kills 2, sends 30 more to hospitals

INSTITUTE, W.Va, April 23, (AP): A chemical leak at a West Virginia silver recovery business on Wednesday killed two people and sent about 30 others to hospitals, including one in serious condition, authorities said. The leak occurred at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute as workers were preparing to shut down at least part of the facility, Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said.

A chemical gas reaction occurred at the plant involving nitric acid and another substance, Sigman said at a news briefing. He added that there was "a violent reaction of the chemicals and it instantaneously overreacted.” "Starting or ending a chemical reaction are the most dangerous times,” Sigman said.

The chemical reaction that was believed to have occurred during a cleaning process produced toxic hydrogen sulfide, Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango said. Among the injured were seven ambulance workers responding to the leak, officials said. "We know that the first responders, they always run to the fire. They put themselves in harm’s way,” Gov. Patrick Morrisey said at an evening news conference.

"We’re very grateful to these brave men and women and what they do. And they’re in our prayers, and we’re monitoring the recovery of those transported to our local hospitals.” Other people were taken to the hospitals in private cars or even in one case a garbage truck, Sigman said. Morrisey said one person was in serious condition.

Vandalia Health Charleston Area Medical Center, one of several hospitals in the area, was treating multiple patients, some brought by ambulance, while members of the community were arriving Wednesday afternoon asking to be checked, hospital spokesman Dale Witte said. Witte said patients were experiencing respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and itchy eyes.

They were being evaluated in the emergency room. WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston said in a statement it has cared for a dozen patients, including eight who arrived by personal vehicle and were not at the scene but were in the area at the time. It said those injuries were not considered life-threatening.

A shelter-in-place order was issued for the surrounding area and lifted more than five hours later. Officials said all the deaths occurred on the plant site. "You had to get really close to the facility to smell it,” Sigman said. The leak required a large-scale decontamination operation in which people had to remove their clothes and be sprayed down, authorities said.