Chemical Spill Causes Shelter In Place Order For Eddyville

Emergency Managers from several counties, along with fire and law enforcement worked together to plot a course of action.

Eddyville, Iowa – Emergency crews from three counties responded to the Ajinomoto facility on the west side of the Des Moines River near Eddyville.

Initial reports of the incident started coming in around 8:30 in the evening of August 25th. Emergency responders quickly set up operations at the BP gas station a mile east of Ajinomoto.

Hydrochloric Acid was leaking from a container, and the valve to shut it down had a malfunction. The spill was contained within a concrete container and was being diverted to a second container for storage.

Early reports had emergency crews closing the 4-lane highway near Eddyville, but later only closed Highway 137 and the Monroe-Wapello road in front of the Cargill facility next to Ajinomoto.

Emergency crews cautioned area residents to continue sheltering until the all-clear is given, and they will issue an alert to let residents know the situation is safe.

Emergency Management on the scene coordinated with the National Weather Service in Des Moines to better understand the chemical plume. That information was used to forecast any wind changes that may cause danger to the Eddyville area residents.

The Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont School District was delaying the start of school for two hours.

There are no reports of injuries as a result of the incident.