Poison Alerts Call Idaho, Texas Crews
About 500 people were asked to leave their homes early Sunday during a short-lived toxic leak from a Texas chemical plant, and a highway was closed for part of the day in Idaho during cleanup of a pesticide spill.
The alert at La Porte, Tex., was over before most residents reported to an evacuation center. The leak, which included hydrogen fluoride vapor, was plugged within an hour, said Bob Porter, manager of the Du Pont Co. plant. He said the cause of the leak had not been determined.
In west-central Idaho, U.S. 95 was closed early Sunday while crews cleaned up fungicide that spilled near the Little Salmon River north of New Meadows when a truck overturned Saturday. The chemical is toxic to fish but not to humans and animals, officials said.
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