INSTITUTE, W.Va. — A Kanawha County plant set to close in June has turned into the scene of a tragedy after two workers lost their lives Wednesday during decommissioning work.
The chemical industrial accident took place at the Ames Goldsmith Catalyst Refiners facility located between Institute and Nitro.
The two fatalities and another person in critical condition were employees of Ames Goldsmith. Their names have not been released.
Catalyst Refiners called Metro 911 to report the incident just minutes after it occurred around 9:30 a.m. at the plant.
First responders and emergency services arrived on the scene around 9:50 a.m. to help treat individuals and transport them to nearby hospitals for treatment. People were brought to WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston, along with CAMC General Hospital and CAMC Memorial Hospital in Charleston.
Ames Goldsmith confirmed to MetroNews that the facility was in the process of being decommissioned, set to close in June. Workers had been informed several months ago about the upcoming closure.
C.W. Sigman, Head of Emergency Services for Kanawha County, said there was a violent chemical reaction in one of the tanks.
“They were decommissioning the facility, and what’s called M2000A and nitric acid were mixed in a pump area, they were decommissioning the tank, that’s when the explosion occurred and the leak. Other employees drug out the affected workers using respirators, many of them had respirators,” Sigman said.
Sigman further explained that it wasn’t really an explosion, but rather a violent collision of chemicals. “It instantaneously overcame them [the workers].”
Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango affirmed the facility was in the process of shutting down its operations.
“Preliminary information indicates that the site was in the process of shutting down its operations, and cleaning and decontamination activities were underway in preparation for the closure of that site,” Salango said. “At this time, it is believed that a chemical reaction occurred during that cleaning process that created hydrogen sulfide.”
Hydrogen sulfide is a flammable, highly toxic, colorless gas that has a distinctive “rotten egg” smell.
WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital critical care pulmonologist Dr. Tom Takubo explained that around 30-45 individuals were treated at the plant itself. Based on that initial treatment, some were transferred to hospitals for further care.
There were 21 people treated for contamination at hospitals. Vandalia Health CAMC reported that patients showed respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, and itchy eyes.
Takubo noted that those with pre-existing long conditions such as asthma and COPD became symptomatic the fastest.
Seven Kanawha County ambulance crew members were among the hospitalized. Sigman lauded their bravery.
“I’m very proud of the responders, I get choked up talking about it as always,” Sigman said. “They worked together, we do it every day, but today they stood up to the plate and did it even better. They put themselves in harm’s way, trying to save a life. I hate that they got contaminated because they were trying to save a life. I applaud them for that effort.”
WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital spokesperson Kristin Anderson reported that 12 patients had been treated at her facility. Four of those 12 arrived by EMS and the other eight came in their personal vehicles. Anderson said two of the treated patients had more severe symptoms.
Governor Patrick Morrisey was briefed on the incident and held a press conference Wednesday evening.
He thanked every official who had a hand in containing the incident and helping those affected.
Morrisey also offered condolences to the families of those who died.
“Our hearts are with you, and our state grieves with you, we stand ready to support you in any way possible,” he said.
Morrisey said the state Department of Environmental Protection will continue monitoring the area to ensure the air has not been contaminated.
“I know through our DEP we’ve been monitoring to ensure the air hasn’t been contaminated, there are similar efforts going on, we know that fortunately any water intake is pretty far away,” he said. “The DEP has really been very proactive trying to ensure the air is unaffected by what’s going on, that process will continue over the course of the upcoming days.”
A shelter-in-place was instituted for a one-mile radius of the Catalyst Refiners site, including over the West Virginia State University campus. St. Albans also put shelter-in-place protocols in place, and a section of Route 25 was closed.
Sigman said the Catalyst Refiners plant did not have an overly large staff.
“I’m assuming that most of them that we’re talking about went to the hospital. This is a very small facility, most of them are working inside either the production area or the warehouse. I would say pretty much all of them [went to the hospital]. They’re not a very big employer; they don’t have a large number of employees on duty at a time.”
Ames Goldsmith President Frank Barber released a statement on the tragedy.
“Ames Goldsmith Corp. is deeply saddened by the deaths of two of our colleagues as a result of an industrial accident at our Catalyst Refiners plant in Nitro, West Virginia, this morning. A third colleague is being treated at an area hospital. This is an unfathomably difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and their families.
Ames Goldsmith is working closely with local, state and federal agencies to determine the cause of the incident, which appears to have resulted in the creation of chemical fumes within a building at the facility. The fumes were contained within that one building. Other Catalyst Refiner employees are being evaluated at area hospitals as a precautionary measure.”
Salango stated he expects national investigations into the incident.
“We anticipate that OSHA, DEP, and the National Chemical Safety Board will all conduct investigations,” Salango said.
Salango encouraged the community to listen to information from local and government offices during this time.
“It’s important that the public rely on information from official government sources, and information that the media relays from official government sources,” Salango said. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there. We want to caution everyone about relying upon that false information.”