Crews Stop Large Propylene Leak In Gloucester County After Evacuations
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) –The power's out; the roads are closed; and the evacuation orders remain, even though hazmat crews secured a propylene leak on a rail car in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
Authorities said 30,000 gallons of propylene started leaking shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday.
"It's in liquid form in the car, once it happened, the valve failed," said Lyman Barnes, Logan Township Administrator. "Once it hits temperature it becomes a vapor, the vapor is explosive.
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Around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, crews closed the leak by replacing the original ruptured valve with a secondary valve.
In the next hour, crews are going to perform an air-quality to make sure it's safe for people to return to the area.
The leak sent two people to the hospital in the unit block of Osprey Court in Logan Township, as hundreds of people who work in the Pureland Industrial Park, in Logan Township evacuated the scene.
If inhaled, the gas is said to cause irritation.
Cathy Tinder, a restaurant owner in the area, described the leak and evacuation "crazy" and she added she had not experienced anything like it.
Hours into the emergency, officials said the power was cut to local businesses as a precautionary move.