By Sarah Ovaska, Toby Coleman and Josh Shaffer
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Copyright 2006 The News and Observer
APEX, N.C. — Flames shot 200 feet high and a cloud of chlorine gas formed over this western Wake County town after a series of late-night explosions at a hazardous waste plant, forcing more than 15,000 people to evacuate.
The fire still raged out of control at 2 a.m., and firefighters could not get closer than 100 yards. They urged shut-in residents to close their windows and run from the toxic smoke. All Apex schools are closed today.
At least seven people went to area hospitals, including Western Wake Medical Center and Rex Hospital, with severe respiratory problems.
Melody Hunter-Pillion, a spokeswoman for Rex Hospital in Raleigh, told The Associated Press just before 1 a.m. that the hospital had been told to expect between seven to 11 patients, all of whom would need oxygen.
The blaze at Environmental Quality Co. on Investment Boulevard started shortly before 10 p.m. Past midnight, people were still walking underneath a black plume that had covered the downtown Apex area — too close to send in police to warn them, Town Manager Bruce Radford said.
“If you see the smoke, run away from it,” Radford said.
Police and other emergency officials went door to door warning residents. About 100 homes in the Briarcliff neighborhood, one of the town’s oldest, near Apex Middle School, were evacuated to the Apex Community Center next to the town hall on Hunter Street. Officials activated the “reverse 911" system, calling everyone near the fire.
The town was being evacuated east of N.C. 55 from the town’s north to southern borders. Residents fled to Olive Chapel Elementary School at 1751 Olive Chapel Road. No one was allowed to leave the town’s sports center, where hockey and other activities were under way.
A mobile air monitor lab from the N.C. Division of Air Quality arrived at about 1:50 a.m. Aircraft were to be flown over the flames to assess the fire.
The explosion was loud and bright enough to see 5 miles away.
“It was like the world’s largest bowl of Rice Krispies — pop, pop, pop! But it was real loud,” said John Echols, 28, who lives two blocks from the EQ plant. He said at first fireballs “would shoot up from time to time. It was nasty.”
He took a blanket, a pillow and a “Lord of the Rings” book to the Olive Chapel Elementary shelter.
Still, some would not flee.
Pat Smith, who lives about 1 mile away from the plant, wanted to be evacuated, but her 87-year-old father, Laddie, lives next door and didn’t want to leave.
“He’s 87 and kind of set in his ways,” Smith said.
By 1:30 a.m., he had no choice. He and his daughter were ordered to evacuate.
Anthony Ladesso, 39, was home Thursday night when his wife reported hearing something like thunder. He stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, doubting her, and smelled “a very sweet odor,” he said.
Soon, he saw emergency officials running past in gas masks, and a neighbor flew by telling him to get his wife and three kids away.
Nearby, Jennifer Zinc, 29, heard a noise like fireworks.
“We have our cats and I’m pregnant,” she said, cats safely stowed in cages, “so we thought we better get out of here.”.
Radford called the waste fire the worst possible disaster.
Chlorine is a yellow-green gas used to manufacture other chemicals. It can damage eyes, skin and lung tissues and be fatal after long exposure. It was used as a choking weapon on the western front during World War I.
Roughly half the town of about 32,000 was forced to leave. The plant also contained pesticides and polychlorine biphenyls, or PCBs, Radford said.
On its Web site, the company calls its Apex plant “a single stop option for your waste management needs.”
The Environmental Quality Co. was forced to shut down a hazardous waste recycling and treatment plant near Detroit in 2005 after an explosion sparked a fire.
The company has also recycled deicing fluid in Michigan and Ohio.
In 1994, the company entered into a voluntary consent judgment with the state of Michigan after a fire at a waste treatment plant. That judgment included a $500,000 penalty.
WHAT CHLORINE IS
- Chlorine is an element used in industry and found in household products.
- Chlorine is sometimes in the form of a poisonous gas. When liquid chlorine is released, it quickly turns into a gas that stays close to the ground and spreads rapidly.
- Chlorine gas can be recognized by its pungent, irritating odor, which is like bleach.
- Chlorine gas appears yellow-green.
- Chlorine itself is not flammable but can react explosively or form explosive compounds with other chemicals such as turpentine and ammonia.
Immediate signs and symptoms of chlorine exposure
- Coughing
- Chest tightness
- Burning sensation in the nose, throat, and eyes
- Watery eyes
- Blurred vision
- Nausea and vomiting
- Burning pain, redness, and blisters on the skin if exposed to gas
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath (may appear immediately if high concentrations are inhaled, or may be delayed)
- Fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema) within two to four hours
What to do
- Leave the area where the chlorine was released, and get to fresh air.
- If the chlorine release was outdoors, move away from the area where the chlorine was released. Go to the highest ground possible, because chlorine is heavier than air and will sink to low-lying areas.
- If you think you may have been exposed, remove your clothing, rapidly wash your entire body with soap and water, and get medical care as quickly as possible.
- As quickly as possible, wash your entire body with large amounts of soap and water.
- If your eyes are burning or your vision is blurred, rinse your eyes with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes. If you wear contacts, remove them before rinsing your eyes, and place them in bags with contaminated clothing. Do not put the contacts back in your eyes. You should dispose of them even, if you do not wear disposable contacts. If you wear eyeglasses, wash them with soap and water. You can put the eyeglasses back on after you wash them.
- If you have ingested (swallowed) chlorine, do not induce vomiting or drink fluids.
- Seek medical attention right away. Dial 911 and explain what has happened.
- No antidote exists for chlorine exposure. Treatment consists of removing the chlorine from the body as soon as possible and providing supportive medical care in a hospital setting.