Two people died and at least 19 others were injured Wednesday after a chemical emergency at Ames Goldsmith Corp.'s Catalyst Refiners plant in Nitro, West Virginia, sending first responders and hospital staff into a fast-moving response across Kanawha County. One person was in critical condition, and at least 21 people in all were confirmed to have been transported to hospitals or treated after the incident.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey said a full investigation is underway. “It’s premature on Day 1 to know everything that occurred, but we need to do an analysis,” he said. “There’s going to be an investigation of everything that happened today.” State environmental and health staff were deployed to the scene, and Route 25 was later back open in the Institute area after being shut during the emergency.
The weight of the event was also felt inside emergency rooms. Dale Witte of Vandalia Health Charleston Area Medical Center said several patients linked to the chemical accident were being treated, with symptoms that included coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat and itchy eyes. Patients were being evaluated in the emergency room as the impact of the release continued to unfold.
Ames Goldsmith said two colleagues died in an industrial accident at the plant Wednesday morning and that a third was being treated at an area hospital. Frank Barber, speaking for the company, said the incident appears to have caused chemical fumes inside one building at the facility and that those fumes were contained there. He called it an “unfathomably difficult time” and thanked local emergency responders and hospital staff for what he described as a highly professional response.
The details that still matter most are the ones investigators have not yet answered. Ben Salango said the chemical involved was nitric acid, which mixed with M2000A to create a violent reaction, but state officials have said they still need to determine exactly how the emergency unfolded. The Emergency Operations Center was activated at 9:46 a.m., and a shelter-in-place order was announced at 9:53 a.m., after first responders were already on scene. The investigation will have to explain not just what spilled, but why the reaction turned deadly so quickly.
