Story by the Panhandle News Network’s Clint Gaige
CHAMBERSBURG, PA — The Chambersburg Fire Department responded Thursday morning to a large Hazmat spill at 800 Development Avenue in Letterkenny Township.
Emergency management confirmed that the call came in at around 9:31 a.m. for a property on the 800 block of Development Ave.
During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Shawn Corwell with the Franklin Fire Company confirmed that the leak started at a company called AFCO which makes industrial cleaner used in the food service industry.
Corwell later confirmed that the acid leak was a combination of water, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and a dye mixture of those two acids which was noticed as a yellow cloud of smoke that residents reported seeing.
In total, WellSpan reported that 17 people were sent to the hospital for evaluation of chemical exposure, two of them were admitted to the ICU for their injuries and 8 others were admitted for observation. The rest are still being evaluated for treatment.
Corwell reported that an AFCO chemist is on scene as well as multiple county hazmat crews to monitor adjacent tanks where the leak occurred. Corwell says, that the leak is stopped but they need to check other tanks to make sure no additional leaks will occur in the future.
The chemicals were confirmed to be toxic.
The Letterkenny Public Affairs Office confirmed to CBS 21 that a shelter-in-place was mandated across the Letterkenny Army Depot and for some of the township due to the leak spreading from AFCO into the depot.
That shelter in place was then lifted as of 1:05 p.m.
OSHA is currently investigating the incident, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
