Pocono News Section

Chemical Leak Questions Linger

Chemical Leak Questions Linger - Monday, January 14, 2008 at 5:00PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Monday, Jan 14, 2008 @05:00pm EST
DELAWARE WATER GAP - Carol Hourigan took her dog for a walk near her Delaware Water Gap home Saturday morning and she smelled something strange.

"Just a very foul, very strong, very heavy smell in the air," she explained.

Then she felt something strange.

"Almost like a burning in the back of my throat, coughing. Almost like you were starting to get a bronchitis infection." she said.

Then she head something she never expected.

"A female firefighter ran up to me and said 'you have to evacuate. There's a problem with the chemical plant. It's mandatory. You have to go now,'" she told WBRE news.

Carol lives in Water Gap Village, a community just across the street from a chemical plant, Vetrellus specialties. Saturday morning emergency crews rushed to a chemical leak there. Officials estimate about 17,000 pounds of chemicals leaked.

Crews suppressed the vapor with spray foam and pimped most of the chemical liquid into a truck. The entire mess was cleared by late Sunday.

"I though everything went very well. We got some rave reviews from the company officials," said Bruce Henry from Monroe County Emergency Management.

People who live near Vetrellus Specialties said they feel better now but they're worried about the long term effects. "I want to know if its going to harm me in the future or my pet," said Hourigan.

Henry explained, "The residue is non-toxic and is harmless."

The Department of Environmental Protection said it did not detect any chemicals in the air or on the ground that could hurt anyone.

Officials explained they did not evacuate people because of a health hazard. They did it because the gas was a fire hazard.

Bob Morlino, the President of Health and Specialty Prodicts at Vertellus said the company is investigating what went wrong and will make changes to make sure it never happens again.

Morlino added, "We apologize to the community for putting them out on Saturday, Happily no one was hurt or injured by the inconvenience."

He could not pinpoint when the company would complete the investigation into what went wrong.