(The Associated Press circulated the following article on November 3.)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — About 80 residents affected by a spill of coal tar distillates last week will remain under an evacuation order until at least Thursday morning as workers try to determine when the area will be safe, officials said Tuesday.
Emergency officials were to consider air-monitoring readings and weather conditions before deciding if residents can return home after 8 a.m. Thursday, Huntington Fire Chief Greg Fuller said.
“It’s too early to tell,” Fuller told The Herald-Dispatch Tuesday night. “We’ll have to see what effect the rain will have.”
Evacuees were briefly allowed back into their homes Tuesday afternoon to get essentials and check on pets.
The spill occurred last Thursday at TechSol Chemical Co. as workers were about to transfer coal tar distillates containing toluene, benzene, xylene and styrene to a railroad tanker for shipment to a Marathon Ashland Petroleum Refinery near Catlettsburg, Ky. A valve was apparently defective, a TechSol employee has said.
The oil leaked into Krauts Creek and a sewer system, prompting initial fears that the concentrated vapors could explode. By mid-Friday morning, emergency crews had removed about 42,000 gallons of contaminated material and were no longer concerned about an explosion.
People living in 500 homes were evacuated. Most were able to return Friday and Saturday, while others were still being told to wait as a safety precaution.
“We’re concerned about benzene in particular,” said Bill Willis, Wayne County’s Office of Emergency Services director and 911 director. “The levels have been high enough to endanger public health. We will err on the side of safety.”