Chemical Spill
The chemical plant where my dad works had a chemical spill over the weekend. A toxic cloud was released into the air, causing a major evacuation.
My sister lives outside of the evacuation area, and my parents were away for the weekend. This is very good since my parents live right in the area that was evacuated.
About 2,500 flee chemical leak in western Pa. (AP via Google)
Chemical Leak Leads To Evacuations In Petrolia (KDKA Pittsburgh)
Residents get OK to return after Pa. chemical leak (AP via Google)
Toxic cloud passes, residents allowed home (CNN)
Yes, my little town got mentioned on CNN.
Just as a frame of reference, I grew up in Bruin, PA, went to Karns City High School, and yes, Hooker, PA is a real place.
This is really scary stuff. At the same time, I live in an area prone to getting three feet of snow and the occasional hurricane.
Scary shit, chemical plants. Glad everyone is OK. How was your weekend? Lots of fun stuff in Salem, I dread going to pick up the husband from the train every afternoon, how many freaking parades do they need to have?!
Posted by on 10/13 at 07:53 PMHi, I used to live down the street from your Dad. I happened to be in town, and was admiring the downed tree in your dad’s yard, when bigger things came my way… I was in the wedding party at the Indspec clubhouse which CNN mentioned being evacuated in their segment with the helicopter video. The video was taken long after the cloud was mostly dissipated - the ground features simply wouldn’t have been visible earlier. I took still pictures of part of the valley before and during the event; the contrast of the cloud against the autumn tree colors was impressive. The evacuation seemed to go pretty smoothly, with lots of road blocks going up quickly inside a several mile radius. However, communications was definitely a weak point. The emergency service personnel at the evacuation site I was sent to had no clear idea of what roads were actually open, and appeared unsure who to contact to find out. Not quite like in the days of the Civil Defense program! In the end, much of the news and traffic information we received was thanks to the use of personal cell phones.
Posted by on 10/15 at 02:13 AM
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