Solenis Chemical Incident Prompts Shelter-in-Place in South Charleston

Solenis Chemical Incident Prompts Shelter-in-Place in South Charleston

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A shelter-in-place order was lifted Wednesday afternoon in South Charleston, West Virginia, after a chemical incident at the Solenis plant involving the decomposition of dried bleach. The South Charleston Fire Department cleared the advisory at 2:50 p.m., following a brief period where residents in a specific sector of the city were told to stay indoors, MetroNews reported.

The incident began at 1:54 p.m. and affected a localized area bounded by F Street to C Street and 1st Avenue to 7th Avenue. The materials involved were chlorinated dry bleach compounds.

Caution over chemicals

The request to shelter-in-place didn’t come from a government mandate initially, but from the company itself. C.W. Sigman, the Kanawha County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director, told MetroNews that Solenis requested the advisory “out of an abundance of caution.”

The technical cause of the alarm was the decomposition of dried bleach. This is why the specific grid of streets—from 1st to 7th Avenue—was targeted for the lockdown.

“The company requested the advisory ‘out of an abundance of caution,'” said Kanawha County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman.

The Solenis facility, formerly known as the Clearon plant, is an industrial fixture in the region. It sits along MacCorkle Avenue (U.S. Route 60), positioned directly across from the Gestamp West Virginia plant and near the Interstate 64 exit. The plant specializes in producing chlorinated dry bleach compounds used for water treatment in pools and spas.

Solenis Chemical Incident Prompts Shelter-in-Place in South Charleston
Photo: wvgazettemail.com

The stakes of the “Chemical Valley”

When a plant like Solenis reports a decomposition event, its location along U.S. Route 60 makes rapid communication essential.

The timeline of the event shows a rapid response:

  • 1:54 p.m.: Incident reported at the Solenis plant.
  • Afternoon: Shelter-in-place issued for the area between F St to C St and 1st Ave to 7th Ave.
  • 2:50 p.m.: Shelter-in-place lifted by the South Charleston Fire Department.
WSAZ+ | Shelter in place lifted in South Charleston

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