anhydrous ammonia leak in Beach Park IL

Excerpts from WGNTV.com:

A firefighter is the latest person to file a lawsuit over the Beach Park ammonia spill in April that sent more than 40 people to the hospital.

The 23-year-old firefighter said he has a severe and permanent disability from the spill. The lawsuit names the driver of the tractor carrying the ammonia and his employer, John Kevek Farms. It says the company did not train employees correctly or did enough to prevent the spill.

On April 25, a farm tractor was pulling a pair of two-ton tanks of anhydrous ammonia near Green Bay Road and 29th Street in Beach Park when the tanks started to leak, creating a dangerous plume.

Anhydrous ammonia is a colorless gas used as an agricultural fertilizer and industrial refrigerant. It gives off pungent, suffocating fumes, that can cause eye and throat irritation, chest pains, pulmonary swelling and even burns. It can be fatal if inhaled at high concentrations.

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Excerpts from ABC7Chicago.com:

A tractor was towing two, two-ton containers of anhydrous ammonia near 29th Street and Green Bay Road in Beach Park when one of the containers leaked and created a chemical cloud.

Police and fire units responded to a report of a possible vehicle fire in the area at about 4:30 a.m., and as a Lake County Sheriff’s sergeant and deputy got out out of their squad cars, they were overcome with the airborne chemical and forced to retreat.

Several victims at the scene were rescued as a total of 140 first ~~responders~~ firefighters, paramedics, and police officers came to the scene. Authorities said 37 people, including the Lake County deputy and sergeant and a Zion police officer, were transported to hospitals. Eight of the injured were hospitalized in critical condition.

People within a one-mile radius were ordered to stay inside with their windows closed and to turn off HVAC units. The shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly after 10 a.m.

Investigators are looking into what the tractor was doing on the road and if proper agricultural laws were followed. Anhydrous ammonia is a chemical used as an agricultural fertilizer. The substance can expand rapidly forming a large cloud that can cause difficulty breathing even death.

Tags: 37 people affected by anhydrous ammonia in Beach Park IL, anhydrous ammonia leak in Beach Park IL, Beach Park Fire Department, EMS Interdivisional Box Alarm and Hazmat Box Alarm in Beach Park