Chlorine Cloud Forces Hundreds to Flee

An industrial chlorine leak forced an evacuation that halted most activity in a wide area of this city 10 miles south of downtown Las Vegas for almost eight hours Monday.

More than 50 people went to hospitals after a chlorine cloud from a leaking tank drifted over the city before dawn. At least 10 people, mostly firefighters, were admitted for treatment.

“It’s dead city,” Joe Mack, a newsman at radio station KXTZ, said as he viewed downtown Henderson. Mack said a greenish cloud hung over the city at sunrise.

The leak was discovered about 2:30 a.m. at the Pioneer Chemical plant, Henderson Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said. Police and ambulance dispatchers began receiving calls from residents complaining of respiratory distress.

By dawn, hundreds of residents were fleeing their homes. Mercy Ambulance, which does not usually serve Henderson, answered 110 calls in the first six hours after the leak. Some people went to fire stations complaining of shortness of breath and were given oxygen by firefighters.

Charles Davidaitis, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said more than 1,000 residents were evacuated, some from nursing homes, on 80 buses provided by the Clark County School District.

Schools were closed in Henderson and two school buildings were turned into shelters for those forced from their homes.

The leak was stopped about 8 a.m. Busy highways linking Henderson to Las Vegas and Boulder City remained closed until almost 11 a.m., when the chlorine cloud was declared dissipated sufficiently for people to return.

Henderson is dotted with chemical and industrial plants, and is no stranger to the troubles they sometimes cause.

In May, 1988, an explosion leveled the nearby Pepcon rocket fuel plant. The explosion killed two people, injured more than 300 and caused $74 million in property damage over a wide area of Henderson.