Fire at Local Explosives Plant
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
A release of chemical fumes forces an evacuation at an area manufacturing plant. Around 9:00 this morning the Slurry Explosives Plant near Hallowell, Kansas in Cherokee County was evacuated. Plant manager Clive Whiteside says the action was taken following the release of chemical fumes. As a precaution, Whiteside says one construction contractor inside was taken to the hospital for observation. How and why the release occured is still under investigation. "We`re not exaclty sure at the moment why the incident occured, but we had a release of nitric acid fumes inside of the building, as a consequence, we evacuated all people inside the area and took people out of the plant as part of our standard emergency response," said Whiteside. Whiteside says workers were making a solution that is used in the majufacture process at the time of the incident. He says most work inside the plant resumed by early afternoon.
Reported By: Stuart Price
