Thousands flee toxic cloud
PETROLIA — Most operations at the Indspec Chemical plant remained shut down this morning, two days after a spill of a highly caustic chemical formed a low-slung cloud that forced thousands of residents to flee their homes within three miles of the plant.
Petrolia Volunteer Fire Company Chief David Blair said most of the plant was not operating this morning. Plant manager David Dorko did not return a call this morning on the status of the plant and the ongoing investigation by state and federal agencies into the cause of the accident.
About 4:30 p.m. Saturday — 30 minutes into the afternoon shift at the plant — a tank holding thousands of gallons overflowed inside the plant, releasing the chemical oleum. The chemical quickly evaporated and formed a cloud more than a mile long.
Oleum has properties similar to sulfuric acid and can burn the skin and lungs. It is not known how much of the chemical escaped.
The potential danger to people and pets caused Butler County emergency officials to evacuate about 2,500 people in a three-mile radius, including the communities of Petrolia, Bruin and Fairview boroughs and Fairview and Concord townships. More residents farther west were told to stay inside and do their best to keep outside air from coming in.
At 2:30 a.m. Sunday, residents were allowed to return to their homes after the federal Environmental Protection Agency out of Wheeling, W.Va., determined there was no trace of acid in the remaining mist.
Dorko said Saturday night that 30 workers evacuated the plant unharmed. One worker who was out of breath received oxygen. Three residents — two elderly and one 44-year-old — were taken to the Butler Memorial Hospital. Their conditions were not considered serious, however, and officials said it was unknown if their conditions were related to the release.
Dorko said when the spill couldn't immediately be contained, a full evacuation of the plant was ordered and area emergency officials were called to assist. These units included volunteer fire departments and ambulance services from all over Butler County, and from Kittanning.
Those with the capability to provide fresh air were especially in demand.
Firefighters and state troopers began going door-to-door using bullhorns to get residents out of their homes. Blair said most people left willingly, but some residents resisted.
By the time Blair arrived in Petrolia, the cloud was fully formed.
The cloud, much like a patch of fog, was said to have a blue tint. It extended more than a mile west of the plant and the smell of rotten eggs extended even farther.
Alex Flick, 12, had a half-dozen friends Saturday night at his Fairview Township home directly across from Karns City High School to celebrate his midget football team's victory over Grove City.
Emergency responders and Indspec set up an incident command center at the high school.
When a state trooper saw Flick and his friends playing around on the high school football field, he used a bullhorn to order them off the field. Flick said that was when he saw a cloud over the valley north of him.
So he and his friends gathered with blankets and tortilla chips on the Flick's front lawn to watch everyone work.
"Everyone went around helping," Alex said.
Seth and Shane Miller, twin 12-year-old brothers from Chicora, joined Alex as dusk rolled in.
"It was a big cloud. It looked like fog," Seth Miller said.Jeanne Flick, Alex's mother, said though the white glaze was visible from her home, she felt safe because it looked to be moving away."We were told we were alright," she said.The boys on the front lawn had plenty to watch as the high school across Route 268 became the command center.About 35 residents showed up seeking shelter, but as the night wore on, more and more found another place to spend the night. Evacuation centers also were set up at the North Washington and Bruin fire halls. Jody Knight, executive director of the American Red Cross in Butler County, said no one was at the North Washington site, however, and 10 were still atBruin by 11 p.m.A good rule of thumb, Knight said, is 10 percent to 15 percent of an evacuated population will need shelter from an agency like the Red Cross. The Petroleum Valley is so close-knit, though, that she only expected to house about 2 to 5 percent. The remainder found a warm bed with friends and family.Barb Smith of Fairview Township and her 6-year-old daughter first went to the high school when Smith heard from a friend about the evacuation. She wasn't at home at the time and didn't have much with her except her Maltese, "Mister.""I'm not excited about spending the night," she said.Most of those inside the Karns City cafeteria drinking coffee, getting hot dogs and potato salad were Indspec employees from the afternoon shift who couldn't get to their vehicles to go home for the night.By 11 p.m., though, those employees found other rides home and the midnight shift employees started to report to the cafeteria to get the latest word.County officials were trying to determine how long it would take the cloud to dissipate and when residents might be allowed to return to their homes. Karns City residents were the first allowed home just after 11 p.m. Blair told them if any smell remained in their homes to open the windows and they would be fine.Blair advised residents this morning to throw out any food left out and open and to wash dishes left out.The weather delayed the return to homes.Wind, which would have helped, was virtually non-existent. And high pressure kept the cloud close to the ground.In the meantime, Dorko said Indspec employees, along with workers contracted to assist in crisis situations, returned to the plant. The spill was contained in about five hours, he said. Then workers began the process of cleaning up and decontamination.Blair, after the residents returned to their homes, said he thanked the departments who assisted and provided food for firefighters. He also said the cooperation of residents made the incident go more smoothly.The company does drills for disasters like this often, Dorko said. Most recently, the company conducted a drill Thursday."You never want to see this happen at your plant," he said. But employees acted as they were taught. The company uses a badge system to account for employees as they exit.Most operations were shut down for the remainder of the weekend at the plant. Workers returned this morning.Butler County Emergency Management Director Frank Matis said operations at nearby chemical plants Sonneborn and Penreco continued.Indspec is an 85-year-old company, and the world's largest producer of resorcinol, which is used by industrial manufacturing companies to produce tire and rubber products, structural wood adhesives, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, printing processes, packaging and cosmetics.About 50 million pounds of the flaky white compound are produced each year, about half the world's supply.In addition to 18 million pounds per year of resorcinol-based resins and derivatives, Indspec produces sodium sulfite and sodium sulfate, used in the manufacturing of glass and paper.It sits on a 263-acre site, about 30 of which are used in production. The company employs about 260 people.
