Area Outside Evacuation Said To Be Safe
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
State emergency officials say areas outside the
evacuation zone surrounding a chemical plant in Conway that is
burning should be safe.
Officials say the size of the evacuation zone was determined
based on worst-case scenarios of the danger of chemical fumes.
Jennifer Gordon, spokeswoman for the state Department of
Emergency Management, says the smoke cloud from the explosions and
fire at Detco Industries looks threatening, but people outside the
evacuation zone should not be unduly concerned.
What was in the smoke wasn`t immediately known. The Emergency
Management Department says federal documents from 2002 show that
the plant has hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid and methanol on the
premises, though it did NOT know if those chemicals were involved
in the fire.
Officials set up portable air-quality monitors in an effort to
detect what was in the cloud.
Detco makes industrial chemicals and aerosol products, such as
cleaners and disinfectants.
