Officials in Toledo, Ohio, have ordered evacuations and for other residents to shelter in place following the release of hazardous materials from a chemical tank.
Everyone within a one-mile radius of a tank at the MC Tank Terminal was ordered to evacuate, said the City of Toledo in a statement on Wednesday. The hazardous materials release is ongoing, it said, noting that crews are monitoring the incident.
On Wednesday at around 4 a.m. local time, the Toledo Fire & Rescue ordered a shelter-in-place for everyone within a three-mile radius of the tank, the city said in an update.
“This means stay where you are, stay indoors, close windows and doors, and turn off ventilation that draws in outside air,” the city said, adding, “Keep pets indoors.”
People working or living within a one-mile radius of the tank, located at 1266 Progress Ave., were told to “evacuate now” by authorities. They advised evacuees to go to Shoreland Elementary School or the Meijer parking lot for a temporary shelter, while Red Cross and Toledo public transit buses are also available for sheltering.
A sheriff’s deputy was injured when he responded to the explosion around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said at a news conference on Wednesday morning. Kapszukiewicz provided no information about the deputy’s condition.
The city said the tank contained an industrial chemical, glycidyl methacrylate, which is used in the manufacturing of certain paints, coatings, and plastics.
Officials said the chemical is an “irritant that can cause burning of the eyes, nose, mouth, and skin” and added that if “exposure occurs, shower or rinse the impacted area.”
Symptoms of overexposure can include headache, dizziness, tiredness, nausea and vomiting, city officials said. Those who are suffering a reaction to the material should seek medical attention, the statement said.
“There is still concern that the tank is emitting this chemical and it has potential within 12 hours of the incident to be explosive,” the mayor said, adding that it can hold 5,500 gallons of the chemical in liquid form. He said officials don’t know what caused the explosion.
First responders, hazmat, and safety teams are not approaching the tank because of the risk of more explosions, and will reassess conditions later on Wednesday morning, he said.
Any contact with the chemical is highly toxic, authorities said during the news conference.
“It’s really toxic if you touch it, if you ingest it,” Karim Baroudi, the head of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, said during the mayor’s news conference. “Now we’re trying to kind of determine how much of a toxicity is in the air that the people are breathing so we can give better guidance.”
Arkansas-based MC Tank Transport did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company told media outlets that its “immediate and overriding concern is the safety of area residents, emergency responders and our employees.”
The incident occurred nearly four years after a major chemical spill caused by a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that forced mass evacuations and federal cleanup efforts. Later, the Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency finalized a $310 million settlement with the train operator, Norfolk Southern.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
