Blast at Ohio Shell Plant Forces Evacuation; 1 Dead

An explosion at a chemical plant sent flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air Friday and produced a mass of thick, black smoke that forced 1,700 people to flee. At least one person was killed.

One of the three employees who were in the Shell Chemical Co. plant at the time was killed, Shell said. The two others were missing late Friday and presumed dead, the company said in a statement. Plant Manager Arnie Dittmar would not identify the three, but said their families had been notified. No injuries were reported.

Late Friday afternoon the fire was brought under control and people were allowed to return to their homes.

It wasn’t known whether the smoke and fumes were toxic. The plant produces a thermoplastic rubber used in automotive parts, footwear and adhesives.

Fifty to 75 of the factory’s 480 employees were working at the time of the explosion, spokesman Mike White said.

The plant, along U.S. 50, is a complex of buildings covering about 15 acres about a mile from this Ohio River town of 6,800 people.

The fire began around 6:30 a.m. in one building and spread to at least one tank, which collapsed, said Washington County Fire Capt. Chris Forshey. He did not know the tank’s contents.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.

Before the fire was controlled, it shot flames 300 to 600 feet high, and its heat was so intense that firefighters had to back off at one point.

In a statement from its Houston headquarters, Shell said the fire was contained to the plant.

Two of the burning chemicals were petroleum-based solvents cyclohexane and styrene monomers, said Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Rob Berger. Both are used in the production of plastics and can produce irritating or poisonous gases.

Authorities evacuated 15 homes in Porterfield, five miles west of Belpre, and later ordered the evacuation of everyone within a one-mile radius of the plant.

A nearby portion of U.S. 50 was closed, and schools in the city and some surrounding areas canceled classes. The Coast Guard was advising commercial and recreational boaters to avoid the Ohio River at Belpre because of the smoke.