AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

Chemical Plume in Kansas Forces Evacuations

Early Friday morning, a chemical spill that created a large chemical plume forced evacuations in Atchison, KS. MGP plant, headquartered in Atchison, is a company that distills alcohol products and produces food ingredients. [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kansas-chemicalspill-idUSKCN12L1ZG” title=”City officials”] identified that the chemicals involved in this incident were sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite.

[link url=”http://www.kmbc.com/article/atchison-residents-advised-to-stay-indoors-after-incident-at-mgp/7025219″ title=”The chemical cloud”] was a result of a delivery to the plant being placed in the wrong tank, which caused a reaction.

https://twitter.com/TheNowKC/status/789475615057514496

According to the National Weather Service of Kansas city, the chemical spill moved north, and they released the below model for the projected path of the chemical cloud.

[link url=”http://www.kmbc.com/article/atchison-residents-advised-to-stay-indoors-after-incident-at-mgp/7025219″ title=”Many of the schools”] were evacuated to the nearby Wal-Mart, and the Kansas Department of Transportation said that Kansas Highway 7, U.S. 73, and U.S. 59 highways in Atchison were closed temporarily until the chemical cloud dissipated.

[link url=”http://www.kmbc.com/article/atchison-residents-advised-to-stay-indoors-after-incident-at-mgp/7025219″ title=”All residents”] and business owners in the affected area were encouraged to shelter in place, keeping all doors and windows closed. The spill originated between 10th and 14th streets, south of Main Street, according to [link url=”http://patch.com/us/across-america/plume-atchison-kansas-chemical-spill-forces-evacuations-shelter-place-orders” title=”Atchison officials”].

Once the dust settled, reports coming Atchison Hospital emergency room, [link url=”https://www.yahoo.com/news/spill-kansas-chemical-plant-causes-smoke-evacuations-153419751.html?ref=gs” title=”spokeswoman T.C. Roberts”], stated that fifty-two people were treated for respiratory discomfort, with one remaining in ICU.

Update

MGP officials [link url=”http://www.stjoechannel.com/news/local-news/mgp-releases-statement-following-atchison-chemical-incident” title=”released a statement”] noting that the company has “worked hard to make sure the immediate situation has been resolved” and also promising to “mitigate the chance of a similar incident occurring in the future.”

Comments are closed.