Two people have died and 19 others were hospitalised after a chemical leak at a West Virginia plant, authorities said. The incident occurred at the Catalyst Refiners facility in Institute, a silver recovery business, around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Workers were preparing to shut down the site when a chemical gas reaction involving nitric acid and M2000A created hydrogen sulphide, a highly toxic gas. The reaction was described as violent and instantaneous by Kanawha County Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman.
First responders arrived shortly before 10 a.m., and a shelter-in-place order was issued for a one-mile radius. Route 25 and Route 60 were closed temporarily, and nearby schools took precautionary measures. The order was lifted after about five hours.
Twenty-one people were taken to hospital, including the two who died. Among the injured were seven ambulance workers. A large-scale decontamination operation was carried out, requiring victims to remove clothing and be sprayed down.
Catalyst Refiners, owned by Ames Goldsmith Corp., is a small facility that recovers silver from chemical waste. The company expressed condolences and pledged cooperation with investigations.
