Power Outage Causes Chemical Leak

By Carrie Pond

Calvert City, KY – Late yesterday morning, a chemical release at Calvert City's Arkema Chemicals plant caused Marshall and Livingston county officials to urge their residents to seek shelter. A power outage caused the release of vapor from one of the plant's production columns. The vapor was a combination of hydrochloric acid and a refrigerant product known as 142-b. There were no on-site injuries or illnesses related to the release, and the building was not evacuated. The leakage lasted for around 35 minutes.