Thousands Flee Fumes After Blasts at Ohio Chemical Plant
Thousands of people were forced from their homes and dozens sought medical treatment Friday after a series of explosions at a chemical plant released a cloud of caustic fumes.
No one was seriously injured, authorities said.
About 5,000 people in a one-mile radius around the Aztec Catalyst Co. plant fled to temporary shelters. More than 40 people were treated at hospitals for minor complaints, such as throat and eye irritation, officials said.
“I was lying on my couch and I heard a tremendous boom,” said Teresa Pence, who lives near the plant. “I looked outside and the sky looked to be bright yellow.”
People were later allowed back in their homes, Lorain County Emergency Management Agency officials said. The plant remained closed.
One building was destroyed and a second heavily damaged in the fire that burned for about 8 1/2 hours.
Rob Phillips, a spokesman for Phillips Petroleum Co., the parent company of Aztec Catalyst, said nine of the plant’s 72 workers were on duty when the first explosion occurred shortly after midnight.
The plant makes chemicals for the cosmetics and plastics industries.
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