Macomb, Ill.-An estimated 5-to-10 tons of anhydrous ammonia escaped from a filling station due to a driver error at Crop Production Services in Sciota last Wednesday morning (Nov. 3), causing the evacuation of nearby residents and a high school. CPS Manager Travis Weaver told Green Markets that the driver broke one of the hoses while filling two nurse tanks when he removed all the hoses except for one before driving away. Weaver told Green Markets that the emergency responders extended a fire truck ladder over the top of the filling station and reached down and shut off the escaping ammonia. “There were no injuries, so we were fortunate that it turned out so well for us,” Weaver said. Police went door-to-door to evacuate the eastern half of Sciota and homes in adjoining rural areas, including two miles of Illinois Route 9. Police also evacuated students from West Prairie High School. The students were transported by bus to the Colchester Middle School. A few days earlier emergency responders at Molalla, Ore., and from two other communities thought they also had a big incident to handle when they responded to an anhydrous ammonia release at a berry packing plant. Expecting to be dealing with 3,000 gallons, Molalla Fire Chief Vince Stafford told Green Markets the release involved only 300 to 400 gallons confined to a maintenance room off from the main area. He said it’s off-season in this agriculture area, and only 20 or so workers were on the job and had to be evacuated from the Santiam River Inc. plant. “From what we gathered it was a valve failure while a maintenance man was working on the system,” Stafford explained. “He went to go get something and came back and detected the leak.” The nearest homes are about a half a mile away, he reported, and residents were advised merely to stay inside.
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