EAST POINT -- The company whose tank caused an evacuation when it began leaking chemical fumes may be billed for the city's cost responding to it, Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said.
The chemical distribution warehouse where the fumes began leaking Wednesday is owned by Brenntag Stinnes Logistics.
Several hundred people were evacuated from their homes in East Point, which is just outside Atlanta, after the 5,000-gallon tank of glacial acetic acid sprung a leak in an industrial complex. The evacuation lasted 18 hours, ending around 2:30 p.m. Thursday after officials successfully transferred the chemical to another tank.
The costs the city of East Point incurred battling the chemical leak are likely to be high, Oxendine said. Hundreds of firefighters and police officers worked around the clock on the leak.
Also, MARTA might bill East Point for the buses it provided to help evacuate residents, Oxendine said.
Meanwhile, life in the area was returning to normal Thursday afternoon.
Trains resumed operation around 3:30 p.m. and 20 MARTA buses were deployed to help ferry evacuees back home from shelters.
East Point Fire Chief Rosemary Cloud said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would investigate the leak.
Evacuees Return Home
Authorities Wednesday afternoon lifted the evacuation order for south Fulton County residents affected by a chemical leak, allowing thousands of displaced refugeees to go home.
Atlanta Police Maj. Ernest Finley said rescue workers successfully tranferred the chemical to another tank under the suprevision of the Environmental Protection Agency at about 2:30 p.m.
The order to allow residents to return home capped a long ordeal that began Wednesday night and lasted several hours later.
The leak occurred Wednesday night but kept emergency workers busy throughout the night and early morning. Several nearby schools in the area closed as a precaution. For a complete list of closed schools, click
here.
Officials capped the leak Thursday morning but were still urging precaution.
"We will continue to monitor it and take samplings to make sure that it is stabilized," said East Point Fire Chief Rosemary Cloud during a news conference. "Once it is stabilized, EPA and the contractor will transfer the (remaining) chemical to another tank."
Katrina Jones, an agent with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said officials are pleased with the way things are progressing.
"We're feeling pretty comfortable with what we're seeing," she said.
Leak Affects Traffic, Transit
The rescue effort launched into action Wednesday night when a 5,000-gallon tank containing glacial acetic acid sprung a leak, releasing a vapor into the air.
About 40 streets in a radius more than a mile around the area were closed. The evacuation affected thousands of residents in hundreds of homes, East Point officials estimated.
Langford Parkway from I-285 to Sylvan Road exit was shut down and remained closed Thursday morning. Workers shut down between 40 and 60 roads in the area. Motorists were urged to avoid the area.
A spokeswoman for MARTA said Thursday afternoon that rail and bus service in the affected area had returned to normal.
During the height of the crisis, the transit agency implemented several service adjustments.
The East Point and Lakewood/Fort McPherson rail stations were closed, meaning passengers are unable to travel on MARTA from College Park to Oakland City. Passengers were asked not to use MARTA to travel to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport until further notice. MARTA will operate bus bridges north and southbound from the College Park station to the Oakland City station. Rail shuttles will operate between the College Park and airport stations and the Oakland City and West End stations. Bus service to the East Point and Lakewood/Fort McPherson stations was diverted to the Oakland City station. Several East Point bus lines were re-routed.
Customers were urged to call MARTA at 404-848-5711 for more information. Also, East Point judicial officials said that all municipal court cases were cancelled for the day. Court dates for defendants would be rescheduled.
Smell Prompted Call
A caller to 911 first reported the leak around 8:20 p.m.
Fire authorities said the leak was coming from a tank owned by Brenntag Stinnes Logistics. It contained an acid whose diluted form is vinegar. Officials said they do not expect any long-term health problems because of the leak.
Cloud said the tank the chemical was leaking from was about the size of a fire truck. A helicopter taking aerial pictures around showed the tank was leaking plumes of smoke.
At a news conference Thursday morning, she said it was unknown when the city would be able to return to normal.
"It could take several hours at this point," Cloud said. "At this point, we're not sure."
Cloud said authorities probably could not stop the leak and would instead isolate the area until the tank leaked out.
"This is a long, drawn-out process. It's a huge operation," Cloud said.
Shelters Open Their Doors
Cloud said the evacuation was standard for such chemical leaks. Several area schools were turned into makeshift shelters. For a complete list of shelter sites, click
here.
The evacuation order stunned residents, many of whom were awakened from sleep and told to leave.
"They knocked on the door and said we must evacuate immediately," resident Patricia Hurd said. "They told us to just come out."
At about 6:30 a.m., some in the shelters were told they could go home and that the evacuation order had been lifted. The move turned out to be premature, and buses that were taking some of the residents home returned to the shelters.
"The bus turned around and came back so we couldn't go home," said evacuee Charles Nolan.
"Everybody was frustrated," said refugee Chantille Cook. "Everybody wants to go home (and) go to school and get back to their everyday life."
Two of the first responding police officers at the scene were brought to a hospital after complaining of burning eyes. Their injuries were minor. No other injuries were reported.
Hazardous materials crews, Fulton County officers and Atlanta officers were at the scene aiding the evacuation. MARTA buses were also being used to help with the evacuation.
"There was a smell going on all day," said Michelle Jett, who lived in an apartment and evacuated to City Hall. "It smelled like vinegar and it hit you."
Although authorities said there is no longterm health hazard, people in the affected area said the smell was irritating.
East Point Mayor Patsy Jo Hilliard said her city's response has been guided by homeland security training officials have received as she sought to reassure residents about their safety.
"I just want (city residents) to know they're in good hands and that people are looking out for them," she said. "We're going to work with (surrounding jurisdictions) and we're going to be safe."
wsbtv.com Staff Writer Alfred Charles and Channel 2 Action News reporters David Bodden, Ross Cavitt and Richard Elliot contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 by WSBTV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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