TOLEDO, Ohio — Hundreds of people in Toledo, Ohio, have been forced to leave their homes after a chemical tank incident.
The Associated Press reported that some residents said the chemicals irritated their eyes and throats. A sheriff’s deputy at the scene took himself to a hospital because he felt unwell.
The tank at MC Tank Transport contained glycidyl methacrylate, an industrial chemical used to make certain plastics, paints, and coatings perform better."
The chemicals, according to WTOL, were being stored at the location before being shipped by rail or road.
It is a liquid in the tank, but when released, it turns into a gas.
Tests are ongoing to see how much toxicity is in the air.
“There is still concern that the tank is emitting this chemical and it has the potential within 12 hours of the incident to be explosive,” Mayor Wayde Kapszukiewicz said.
Kapszukiewicz called the incident an explosion, but city spokesperson Rachel Hart told USA Today that no explosion happened.
The mayor told CNN that the chemicals were still venting, but were less volatile than initially reported about 13 hours earlier.
The company released a statement which read, “At this moment, we are working with the American Red Cross to arrange emergency lodging and transportation assistance for displaced residents,” CBS News reported.
About 1,000 residents within a mile of the tank had to evacuate while people three miles from the tank had to shelter in place, including some locations in Michigan, the AP said. The blast occurred in a largely industrial area.
In addition to the evacuations and shelter-in-place order, CSX trains that would run along the location where the blast happened have been shut down, while ships that were in port in Toledo were not allowed to leave, CNN reported.
The cause of the incident is unknown.
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