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By MICHAEL D. McELWAIN, mmcelwain@reviewonline.com
A Friday afternoon incident at NewChem outside Newell
brought the attention of local fire department officials, but
no fire or release of chemical occurred.
According to Newell Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott
Wilson, his department was notified Friday at 4:12 p.m. about
a possible problem at the facility located on Ohio River
Boulevard.
"The call came in as a report of a reactor overheating. The
lead man did a walkthrough and found a building with smoke in
it," Wilson said.
According to the chief, a modified polyurethane resin was
in the tank and during the normal process, there was a
reaction, but "that reaction took a life of its own."
The materials and surrounding area got as hot as 300
degrees and when Newell fire department officials arrived,
there was a concern about other materials inside and outside
the building which are flammable.
"There was no fire and was no release of chemicals of any
type," Wilson said. The resin material did, however, boil over
on the floor inside the structure.
Wilson said safeguards at NewChem worked. "The
closed-circuit drainage worked, so it (the resin) can't get
outside the plant," the chief said.
Fire officials opted to mitigate the hazard by allowing the
reaction to occur and then cool back down.
As with most incidents involving chemicals, fire officials
called a national hotline for assistance and guidance. There
was discussion about possibly evacuating the area in a
one-mile radius, but Wilson said further discussions with
Chemtrec about the exact materials involved reduced that
evacuation area to a 1,000-foot radius.
In the end, however, the reaction was contained and no
evacuation was needed.
Wilson said rumors suggesting a wide-ranging evacuation and
a chemical material escape were untrue.
There were no injuries, and the situation unfolded without
incident due, in part, to the quick reaction of NewChem
employees.
"As soon as their representative found they had an issue,
they called for assistance immediately," Wilson said, adding,
"They gave us all the information we needed and were extremely
helpful."
The fire department remained on the scene for nearly four
hours on Friday with additional assistance from the New
Manchester Volunteer Fire Department. Chester's fire
department was on stand-by status.
According to Wilson, the sheriff's department,
Newell/Chester Ambulance personnel, LifeTeam EMS and members
of the Office of Emergency Management were on location as
well.
The plant was formally known as Newell Specialty Chemical
and makes blends and additives for specialty chemicals. |
