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Plant Still Investigating Chemical Leak That Prompted Closure Of Delaware Memorial Bridge

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PENNSVILLE, N.J (CBS/AP) -- Authorities are still investigating the cause of a chemical leak that prompted the shut down of the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Sunday but urges there's no harm to the public. The bridge reopened Sunday night but was shut down for several hours after a leak of ethylene oxide from the nearby Croda Atlas Point plant was discovered in Delaware.

The plant confirmed Monday that at no point during the leak was there "an unsafe level of ethylene oxide in the air outside the facility perimeter."

Ethylene oxide is a highly flammable gas that is a finished product stemming from methanol.

"The health and safety of people is always our number one priority, and we are carrying out this in-depth investigation, supported by experts both within and outside of our organization, to understand the cause of the incident and how we can prevent something like this from happening again. We anticipate initial findings from the investigation to be available in the next 24 hours," said in a statement.

Plant Still Investigating Chemical Leak That Prompted Closure Of Delaware Memorial Bridge statement 11/26
Credit: Croda

The plant was recently built on the Delaware side of the bridge. No injuries were reported.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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