INSTITUTE, W.Va. — Two workers have died and 19 others required hospitalization following a deadly chemical incident at a West Virginia precious metals facility, according to emergency officials.
The dangerous leak happened at Catalyst Refiners in Institute while employees were working to close down portions of the silver recovery operation, according to Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman.
Officials say the incident involved a dangerous interaction between nitric acid and another chemical compound. “A violent reaction of the chemicals and it instantaneously overreacted,” Sigman explained during a press conference.
Sigman noted that “Starting or ending a chemical reaction are the most dangerous times.”
Seven emergency responders who arrived at the scene were among those requiring medical treatment, authorities confirmed.
Emergency officials said some victims were transported to medical facilities in personal vehicles, with one person even taken to the hospital in a garbage truck, according to Sigman.
Area residents were ordered to shelter in place for more than five hours before the directive was lifted. Emergency management officials confirmed that all fatalities and injuries happened within the plant’s boundaries.
“You had to get really close to the facility to smell it,” Sigman reported.
The incident triggered a massive decontamination response where exposed individuals had to strip off all clothing and undergo chemical washdown procedures, emergency officials said.
The facility specializes in extracting silver from industrial waste materials and can recover thousands of dollars worth of precious metals simply by cleaning office floors at manufacturing plants, according to Sigman.
Ames Goldsmith Corp., which owns the Catalyst Refiners operation, expressed grief over the tragic outcome and solidarity with affected families.
“This is an unfathomably difficult time,” the company said in a statement released during the briefing. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and their families.”
The parent company pledged full cooperation with local, state and federal investigators examining the cause of the incident.
The facility is situated near Institute, a small community located approximately 10 miles west of Charleston, West Virginia’s capital city.
