Two Albemarle employees were sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure after a chemical release at the Orangeburg plant Wednesday morning. They were back at work that afternoon.
The release was contained within minutes by the plant’s internal emergency action team. Two employees were transported to the Regional Medical Center for observation after potential minor inhalation exposure, plant Manager Karl Meyer said.
About 15 employees were evacuated from the area of the release and the plant’s other approximately 150 employees were told to congregate upwind from the area of the release for less than one hour as a precaution.
Computer modeling equipment designed for such events indicated the substance was contained on the plant site.
Prior to being transported to the RMC, the employees were checked by the plant’s 24-hour, on-site emergency medical technician. Meyer said by 4 p.m., the employees were released from the hospital and were back at work.
Meyer said the plant’s emergency procedures worked as they were supposed to.
“We feel like we did our job today and feel certain these employees will be fine,” Meyer said. “Our highly trained emergency action team responded quickly with the right equipment to attack something like this. Thankfully, we routinely drill for such events that rarely occur.”
The release of the corrosive chemical containing acetic acid, one of the ingredients used in the company’s pharmaceutical operations, occurred at about 11 a.m. Acetic acid is found in commonplace products such as vinegar.
Meyer said the amount of the chemical released was less the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s required reportable limit, but the plant reported the incident as part of protocol. Albemarle also notified the county’s emergency personnel of the incident.
The incident is under investigation by the plant’s management team.