Chemical spill causes plant evacuation 4/25/2014

Published 12:00 am Friday, April 25, 2014

Chemical spill causes plant evacuation


By John Howell
A chemical spill early Thursday morning at Crown Cork and Seal’s Batesville manufacturing facility prompted a precautionary evacuation, acting plant manager Tom Johnson said.

Work at the plant was expected to resume at noon Thursday. An outside contractor haz-mat team was being utilized for cleanup and further inspection.

Batesville Fire Chief Tim Taylor said that an engine and a ladder truck were sent to the plant on Highway 35 North about 3:10 a.m. “Basically there was no emergency situation,” Taylor said firefighters learned on arrival.

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Panola Emergency Management Agency Director Daniel Cole also responded to the spill site.
Johnson would not identify the chemical that was spilled. The material that leaked from a tank on site was “self-contained” and not introduced into the city’s sanitary sewer system, he said.

A security guard at Crown Cork and Seal told an employee that work would resume at noon Thursday after the plant was evacuated early Thursday as a precautionary measure following a chemical spill.