The City of Akron’s water plant is back up and running after a chemical reaction occurred at the facility on Ravenna Road in Franklin Township Wednesday, hospitalizing three people, according to the city.
The shelter-in-place order has been lifted for residents and businesses within a half-mile of the water plant, the city said.
Around 1:45 p.m., a delivery of chemical alum was mistakenly added to two tanks of sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach, the city said.
Kent Fire Lt. Craig Peeps said the mixture instantly created a green cloud and a pool-like smell, which resulted in the production of chlorine gas inside the chemical building on the west side of the plant.
Peeps said seven people were evaluated, and only two Akron water plant employees, along with the truck driver who delivered alum, were taken to the hospital, where Peeps said their conditions are unknown.
“If you have feelings of burning in your throat, trouble breathing, that’s the symptoms we saw with patients that we transported to the hospital,” said Peeps.
As for Akron’s water distribution system, Mayor Shammas Malik said their service was not impacted by the reaction, so it is safe to use.
“It’s a complex system, but at the same time, we take these things very, very seriously. We want to make sure that people are safe. We’re sending our well wishes to the three people who were taken to the hospital,” said Malik.
The water plant was evacuated and was temporarily closed as first responders worked to clear the gas.
Officials said one building at the plant is still being fully cleared for return.
According to the city, the water currently circulating in Akron was not impacted by the chemical reaction and is safe to consume.
“We’ve made a couple of entries into the space to get readings of the chlorine. At this time, the readings are below the immediately dangerous to life and health, so we’re kind of just letting the reaction occur and keeping the area monitored,” said Peeps.
Malik said his team will now look into how the chemical reaction unfolded.
Alex Yahner is an office manager at Scott Molders, a plastic fabrication company in Portage County. Although he and his co-workers didn’t have to shelter in place, other residents and businesses surrounding the facility remained under the order for hours.
“It’s surprising. Mistakes happen. Hopefully, everyone’s okay,” said Yahner.
He spoke to News 5’s Remi Murrey about information he received from the city.
“They’ve answered all my questions well and everything. They seem like they have everything under control,” said Yahner.
Yahner said that while working inside Scott Molders, he heard a lot of sirens, so he went outside to see what had happened.
“We’ve been working here next to them for decades, so nothing ever bad has happened or anything like that. My big concerns (were) us here and my family who lives right next (to) their property (that) butts up to the water works,” said Yahner.
Thankfully, he said his family was not home during the chemical reaction, and business at the plastic fabrication company was not interrupted.
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