Chemical Spill in Butler County

A chemical leak prompted the evacuation of local residents in Butler County, PA. The Department of Environmental Protection inspectors are examining above-ground storage tanks this week at the Indspec Chemical Corporation plant in Petrolia, Butler County.

DEP inspectors will inspect the tanks where fuming sulfuric acid, also known as oleum, is stored for use in the company’s manufacturing process. “At this time, we don’t know the exact location in the storage tank system where the chemical leaked or how it happened, but we will continue to inspect the system until we have an answer,” said DEP Regional Director Kelly Burch. “Indspec holds DEP permits for these tanks and has met regulatory requirements when they were inspected within the past four years.

“Within the next few days, we will also check for factors like potential equipment failure, alarm failure or human error as we investigate what happened to create this emergency situation.” Emergency response officials established an evacuation zone around the plant where up to 2,500 people reside after a release created a fuming sulfuric acid cloud that hung in the air. Dispersed into the atmosphere, the acid can cause respiratory damage and skin burns.

Some residents closed doors and windows and remained in their homes, others stayed with friends or family outside of the evacuation zone, and other residents opted to go to one of the designated community shelters. Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, monitoring equipment could no longer detect acid in the atmosphere in Petrolia area neighborhoods and the evacuation was lifted.

A DEP biologist walked the South Branch of Bear Creek to follow up on reports of a fish kill. He observed several hundred dead fish in a stretch of the creek between a quarter mile and a half mile downstream from the Indspec plant; the dead fish first noticed just downstream of a stormwater outfall pipe. DEP will investigate to determine if the fish kill is related to the chemical release.

Residents who believe they have suffered a loss as a result of the incident can contact The Levensten Law Firm. Indspec is the world’s largest producer of resorcinol, a substance that is used to produce tire and rubber products, structural wood adhesives, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, printing processes, packaging and cosmetics.