Chemical plume blankets Toledo after tank leak at bulk terminal

A storage tank at the MC Tank terminal in north Toledo began leaking late on Tuesday, sending a chemical plume over parts of the city and triggering evacuation orders for everyone within a mile of the site. Residents between one and three miles out were told to shelter in place, according to local station WTOL 11.

Vapors reduced visibility on roadways across the area, and video posted overnight showed a plume covering much of the city that night. One post described driving through the heart of Toledo as the cloud spread. Workers told the station that the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex was evacuated around 11 p.m.; WTOL has reached out to the automaker for confirmation. By early Wednesday, Toledo Fire & Rescue spokesperson Pvt. Sheldon Collins said the exact chemicals in the air were not known at that time.

The safety perimeter was drawn before the substance inside it had been identified. Evacuation at one mile and sealed homes at three implies the standard risks of such clouds — eye and skin irritation, breathing difficulties, nausea — and the two zones together stretched across multiple miles of the city. MC Tank's north Toledo terminal specializes in bulk liquid chemical transportation and tank-container services, and across the company's network the chemicals handled include caustic soda, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and other specialty chemicals. What the failed tank held has not been said. The tank sits inside the city it clouded.

An official identified as Morrissey said officials did not yet have details about what caused the incident, and that no train was involved to her knowledge. The cause remains under investigation.

In such an event the first usable fact is distance; what the distance is from arrives later. Morrissey said crews will remain at the scene until the situation is understood and safe.