Chemical Leak at Hydrite Chemical Co. sends 15 Individuals to Hospital

A chemical spill in Indiana has landed 20 people in the hospital.

The plant has since shut down the pipes leaking the noxious gas.

Firefighters and emergency response crews confirmed the spill as sulfer dioxide and evacuted the area, the report states. No patients so far are being treated at the Union Hospital for causes related to the leak.

The chemical was Sulfur dioxide at Hydrite Chemical Co. occurred on Saturday night and the fumes were windblown to nearby Hulman-Mini Speedway, where people were enjoying while watching vehicle races, according to a fire department spokesman, Joe Swan, in Terre Haute.

Other symptoms reported by some of the evacuees included nausea and a metallic taste in the mouth; oxygen was administered to some people by first responders.

“We’ve got things under control at this time”, said Swan.

As many as 18 people were admitted to a local hospital, complaining of irritable breathing and burning skin. Czupryn added that everything was contained, and that hazmat and fire personnel cleared the area and reopened it. They were manifesting symptoms consistent with sulfur dioxide inhalation, hospital spokesperson Ann Marie Foote revealed. Environmental activists are pushing for harsher regulations and penalties against companies which own highly polluting chemical facilities, as for example the Kanawha River Valley has experienced no less than five such spills in the last five years.