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Chemical Leak at Catalyst Refiners in West Virginia Kills 2, Injures Dozens

Chemical Leak at Catalyst Refiners in West Virginia Kills 2, Injures Dozens
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Two workers were killed and dozens of people required medical treatment after a “violent chemical reaction” at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute, West Virginia, on Wednesday, prompting a shelter‑in‑place order for nearby residents and renewed scrutiny of the Kanawha Valley’s industrial safety record wapt +1. Officials said at least 19 people were taken to hospitals and as many as 30 to 45 were evaluated or treated on site or at medical facilities, including several first responders westvirginiawatch +1.

The leak occurred around 9:30 a.m. on April 22 as crews were dismantling or preparing to shut down part of the silver‑recovery facility, which had notified workers it would close in June westvirginiawatch +1. Emergency sirens sounded and a wireless alert went to cell phones as authorities ordered people within about a one‑mile radius to stay indoors with windows closed; the order remained in place for more than five hours before air monitoring allowed it to be lifted westvirginiawatch +1.

What Happened Inside the Plant?

County officials described a sudden overreaction when nitric acid mixed with another substance identified as M2000A, generating toxic hydrogen sulfide gas that spread through part of the plant westvirginiawatch +1. C.W. Sigman, Kanawha County’s emergency management director, noted that “starting or ending a chemical reaction are the most dangerous times,” underscoring the risk during shutdown operations mountainstatespotlight.

Two employees died at the scene; one other person was reported in critical condition, and at least seven emergency medical workers were among those exposed and treated after entering the facility or assisting victims outside apnews +1. A physician with WVU Medicine told local media that a product called Bonderite, described as a pulmonary irritant that can inflame lungs and block oxygen absorption, was also involved in the incident apnews.

Plant owner Ames Goldsmith Corp., which operates the Catalyst Refiners site, said in a statement that “the incident appears to have resulted in the creation of chemical fumes,” called the deaths an “unfathomably difficult” loss for colleagues and pledged full cooperation with investigators westvirginiawatch.

A Deadly Leak in a Valley With a Long Memory

The Institute facility sits in a corridor long known as West Virginia’s “chemical valley,” where large‑scale industrial accidents have punctuated daily life for decades, including a 2008 explosion at the same site that killed two workers and a 2014 spill elsewhere in the valley that contaminated drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people usatoday. Advocates such as Maya Nye of the environmental health group Coming Clean said the latest disaster was “one of the largest incidents we’ve had in a long time” and fits a pattern of recurring fires, leaks and explosions that has fueled community distrust usatoday.

Since 2018, Ames Goldsmith has received at least five workplace safety citations at U.S. facilities, including the Institute plant, where a 2013 tank leak spilled about 50 gallons of nitric acid and injured two people, according to state investigative reporting usatoday. Federal workplace‑safety agency OSHA has now opened a formal probe into Wednesday’s leak and typically has up to six months to determine whether violations contributed to the deaths and injuries wapt +1.

The Bigger Picture

Governor Patrick Morrisey praised first responders and promised a “full investigation,” while local officials cautioned that it was too early to assign blame as state environmental and health agencies joined the federal probe apnews +1. For residents of the Kanawha River valley, the latest shelter‑in‑place order and hazmat decontamination scenes revived longstanding fears about living next to aging chemical infrastructure. The outcome of the OSHA and state investigations will shape whether the incident is treated as an isolated failure during shutdown or further evidence that regulatory oversight and plant safety practices remain inadequate in one of the country’s most industrially dense river valleys wapt +1.