Washington — Alarmed by nonfatal incidents involving toxic nitric acid in Ohio and Tennessee, the Chemical Safety Board has launched investigations into the matters.
Austin Powder Co. owns the facilities under investigation. A CSB press release states that a June 11 incident at an explosives manufacturing plant near McArthur, OH, stemmed from an “unanticipated chemical reaction” in a 5,000-gallon storage tank. A plume of gas engulfed the facility and surrounding area, leading to an evacuation of a 3-mile radius around the facility as well as parts of adjacent Zaleski, OH.
On Nov. 24, per an Austin Powder statement, a “malfunction” during a startup of a U.S. Nitrogen plant in Midway, TN, produced a “yellow-brownish” plume of gas similar to the one emitted in McArthur.
“We are concerned that incidents involving nitric acid have occurred at two facilities owned by Austin Powder in less than seven months,” CSB Chair Steve Owens said in the release. “While fortunately no one was injured in either incident, we want to ensure that they do not continue to happen.”
