Evacuation expanded for area near Belle Chasse chemical plant

Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:38 PM

Updated today at 11:03 PM





BELLE CHASSE, La. - A chemical fire and release occurred at the Sun Drilling chemical plant near Main and G Streets near the Belle Chasse ferry, caused the evacuation of some nearby residents and some government buildings, including the district attorney's office, the sheriff's office and the council building.

Initially, officials said a lightning strike sparked a fire in a chemical tank, releasing chemicals and prompting road closures and voluntary evacuations.

Then, officials called mandatory evacuations, saying the tank began to swell and they feared an explosion.

But now officials say, the tank isn’t swelling and there may not have been a lightning strike or a fire.
Instead, they say, the tank, which contains about 2000 gallons of a hazardous material called divinylbenzene, is having a chemical reaction.

And the smoke we saw may have been the result of nitrogen firefighters used to try to cool the tank.
But that hasn’t worked and the tank remains volatile, with the possibility of an explosion.



http://www.wwltv.com/news/Chemical-release-fire-in-Belle-Chasse--166568096.html