West Virginia Public Broadcasting

No Chemicals Detected In Air Around Chemical Leak Site

Published
Maria Young
A dozen cleanup workers are seen far from the camera standing together nearby Catalyst Refiners. It's a sunny day. A parked truck is also visible with an open door.

Catalyst Refiners remains temporarily closed while cleanup continues and state and federal officials investigate the incident.

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Federal, state and local agencies are working to monitor conditions at the site of that fatal chemical leak in Nitro last week. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still tracking air quality in and around the Catalyst Refiners plant with a dozen air monitors. So far no hydrogen sulfide, which officials identified as a contributing factor to the deaths, has been detected offsite. 

Two people were killed and one person was critically injured after a volatile chemical reaction last Wednesday. Roughly 30 other people, including seven emergency responders, were treated at area hospitals. 

The EPA is also working with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to ensure conditions at the facility stay stable and that remaining materials are handled and removed safely.  

Both the EPA and the DEP are supporting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board as they investigate the cause of the incident. 

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