A deadly chemical leak at a silver recovery facility in West Virginia left two people dead on Wednesday and sent around 30 others to the hospital, one of whom remains in serious condition.
The incident happened at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute while workers were in the process of shutting down part of the operation.
According to officials, something went wrong during the process.
Emergency crews later explained that the incident involved hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that was produced when nitric acid was mixed with another substance during cleaning.
Among those injured were seven ambulance workers who responded to the scene; they were exposed while trying to help others.
Not everyone arrived at the hospital by ambulance either; ome people made their own way there in personal vehicles. At one point, someone was even transported using a garbage truck.
At least one person remains in serious condition. Hospitals were seeing people come in all day, even some who weren’t at the plant but were nearby when it happened.
A lot of them came in with breathing issues like coughing, sore throats, shortness of breath, and irritated eyes, but fortunately, most cases weren’t life-threatening.
Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents as a precaution, which stayed in effect for several hours before being lifted.
Officials said the deaths were limited to individuals at the facility itself, and the odor from the gas didn’t travel far unless you were very close to the site.
Because of the exposure risk, emergency crews had to run a big decontamination process. People who may have come into contact with the chemicals also had to remove their clothing and be rinsed off.
Officals said the nearby environment doesn’t seem to have been affected by the incident; both air and water quality in the area are believed to be safe.
The company that owns the plant, Ames Goldsmith Corp., said it’s deeply saddened by what happened and plans to cooperate fully with investigators.
Federal safety officials have already launched an investigation into the incident, which could take several months to complete.
The facility itself specializes in recovering silver from industrial waste and leftover materials.
Silver shows up in everything from electronics to X-ray film and jewelry, and the process often involves using chemicals like nitric acid to separate it.
The plant sits near Institute, just outside Charleston, in an area long known for its chemical industry. While fewer plants operate there today than in the past, the region still has a strong industrial presence tied to chemical production.
