Pecatonica, Ill.-About 2,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia were released from a nurse tank when a trailer hitch broke off from its tow vehicle and the applicator hose snapped April 30 about 2 p.m. in a farm field near U.S. Route 20, according to the Winnebago County sheriff’s office. There were no injuries, no road closures, and no evacuations, reported Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Harrison. Harrison told Green Markets that farmers down wind were notified and the fumes were kept away from the highway by favorable winds. “We issued an advisory for about three hours, but that’s all,” Harrison said. “It was not on a highway and not in a populated area and if it had to happen this was a good place for it.” Pecatonica firefighters closed the valves on the ammonia trailer and declared the area to be safe, and Winnebago County emergency services disaster agency remained on alert for the short time. The incident did recall last April, when more than 38,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia leaked from a semi trailer truck in Seward, forcing the evacuation of the small town of less than 300 people.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain