BELLE, W.Va. -- About 20 pounds of ammonia was released early this morning when a relief vent opened on the top of the huge ammonia storage tank at DuPont Co.'s Belle plant.
DuPont uses ammonia as a raw material for many of its products. It provides the source of nitrogen used in making various Belle plant chemicals.
Most people are familiar with the ammonia they use as a household cleaner. Unlike those cleaners, ammonia used at the Belle plant is not heavily diluted with water.
Exposure to ammonia can cause burning, swelling of the larynx, severe pulmonary and gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and, in large enough doses, coma and even death.
Hastings said DuPont did not detect any ammonia odors at ground level on the site and was not aware of any reported odors offsite.
"We are continuing our investigation to finalize our calculations on the quantity released and determine the cause of the leak," Hastings said.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is investigating a series of incidents at the DuPont plant in early 2010, including the Jan. 23 phosgene leak that killed a worker. The CSB will release its report in early April, said agency spokeswoman Hillary Cohen.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- About 20 pounds of ammonia was released early Tuesday when a relief valve opened on the top of the huge ammonia tank at DuPont Co.'s Belle plant.
No one was injured in the incident.
DuPont spokesman David Hastings said the incident occurred at about 2:30 a.m. and the all-clear was sounded shortly after 3:10 a.m.
Hastings said a remote sensor on top of the tank detected the leak, which came from a vent intended to open and relieve pressure inside the vessel. It was not clear what caused the vent to open this morning.
"We have an investigation underway now to try to get at the cause of the leak," Hastings said.
Initial reports on the size of the leak put it well under the 100-pound amount that would require an official report to emergency responders and environmental regulators.
The huge white ammonia tank with the DuPont logo towers over the rest of the Belle facility.
The tank has a total capacity of 40 million pounds, but for years DuPont has never kept it more than half full. Hastings said the tank contained about 10 million pounds of ammonia at the time of Tuesday morning's incident.
DuPont uses ammonia as a raw material for many of its products. It provides the source of nitrogen used in making various Belle plant chemicals.
Most people are familiar with the ammonia they use as a household cleaner. Unlike those cleaners, ammonia used at the Belle plant is not heavily diluted with water.
Exposure to ammonia can cause burning, swelling of the larynx, severe pulmonary and gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and, in large enough doses, coma and even death.
Hastings said DuPont did not detect any ammonia odors at ground level on the site and was not aware of any reported odors offsite.
"We are continuing our investigation to finalize our calculations on the quantity released and determine the cause of the leak," Hastings said.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is investigating a series of incidents at the DuPont plant in early 2010, including the Jan. 23 phosgene leak that killed a worker. The CSB will release its report in early April, said agency spokeswoman Hillary Cohen.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
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