SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Authorities were dealing with a shelter-in-place and separate evacuation order just a few hundred yards apart in South Charleston Thursday.
Both happened at around noon. The first incident, a leak of chlorine at the Clearon Chemical Plant along MacCorkle Avenue. Authorities issued a shelter-in-place.
“We had basically a chlorine cloud that was out in the air so it was called for a shelter-in-place to get people in the immediate area away from that so they wouldn’t be exposed,” South Charleston Fire Chief Virgil White said.
The shelter-in-place was lifted within an hour after plant officials were able to contain the leak.
A few minutes after the chemical leak call, a construction crew hit a natural gas line causing a leak at Riverwalk Plaza just a few hundred feet west of the plant. An evacuation order was issued.
“When you have things like natural gas leaking in the open it’s looking for a heat source and if it finds a heat source you’ll have a major fire,” White said.
Crews from Mountaineer Gas were quickly on the scene to stop the leak and immediately begin repairs on the line. The evacuation order was lifted and part of MacCorkle Avenue reopened at around 2:15 p.m.
Thee were no injuries reported.