Some 47 contract workers were sent to local hospitals around 2:00 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6, when anhydrous ammonia leaked at the Coffeyville Nitrogen plant. None of the injuries were serious, according to the company, which said the workers were sent to the hospital for observation. However, local reports on Aug. 7 were that a few of the workers were kept at the hospital overnight for further observation.
The company said the leak was due to a pump failure in a UAN processor. The leak was reported to have occurred for only about ten minutes, and a stiff wind was reported to have caused it to dissipate quickly. The company added that no evacuations were necessary.
Coffeyville said UAN production came back online Wednesday, Aug. 8.
In the meantime, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a report on the oil spill at the Coffeyville Refinery that occurred during the July 1 flood. The report indicated that a valve between one higher elevation oil tank to a lower level tank was not cut off in time, allowing the 72,000 gallons of oil to get into the flood waters. The company said it is still conducting its own investigation. KDHE told Green Markets that its report was simply a spill incident report and that it was not involved in a full fledged investigation of the incident. It deferred to the company and EPA on that matter.