BELLE, W.Va. — Officials at a Kanawha County chemical plant say there was never any danger to public health or the environment in connection with an ammonia leak that took place Saturday morning.
A shelter-in-place was issued at around 10:30 a.m. when an ammonia sensor at the Belle plant facility indicated a leak. The shelter-in-place first covered a wide area but was then reduced to a quarter-of-a-mile.
Arclin plant manager Alicha Hunt said everything worked like it’s supposed to work.
“These are the types of emergency response measures we train for to keep our employees and community safe,” Hunt said. “Today our safety measures and sensors worked as designed to alert us promptly enabling us to address the leak.”
Kanawha County Emergency Manager Director C. W. Sigman told MetroNews soon after the alert was issued that the ammonia appeared to be moving east of the plant into the mountainside and away from any populated residential areas.
Hunt said the sensors are designed to detect leaks that are well below what would be considered dangerous to residents.
“I am proud of our team for their swift action in an unplanned situation,” Hunt said “We also want to thank the Chemours emergency response team and our local first responders for their coordinated efforts.”
The all-clear was given at about 12:30 p.m.