Brunswick County hazardous materials incident mitigated near Navassa, North Carolina

Lina Portman2 days ago

0 2 minutes read

The release of chlorine gas caused a dangerous situation around Navassa that closed roads early Saturday morning and required mitigation efforts throughout the day.

Shawn Taylor, public information officer for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Division, confirmed the incident occurred at American Distillation.

“The North Carolina Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team responded to the site,” Taylor said in an email.

He noted that the Environmental Protection Agency is providing air monitoring resources and is actively coordinating with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Several roads – including sections of I-140 – were closed and homes and businesses in the area were evacuated “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a Brunswick County news release.

Previous coverage: Hazardous material cleanup is nearly complete, crews will monitor the area over the next few days

The road closures lasted early Saturday morning until about 8 p.m. Saturday and created traffic delays around the Leland area and in downtown Wilmington. The Brunswick County news release said there was no information on the cause of the incident.

The incident was first reported to Brunswick County 911 just after 5 a.m. Saturday morning. According to 911 call logs obtained by StarNews, the caller indicated there were bags of chlorine powder that contained moisture and were “smoldering.” The caller reported seeing a cloud of gas or vapor.

In addition to closing roads, the incident also affected river traffic. According to 911 logs, the U.S. Coast Guard and North Carolina Wildlife were notified of a “chlorine gas cloud over the Cape Fear River” in the area of the CSX Bridge and the I-140 Bridge.

Multiple agencies responded to the incident including Brunswick County Emergency Management, Brunswick County Sheriff's Office, Navassa Police Department, Navassa Volunteer Fire Department, Sunny Point Fire and Rescue, Brunswick County EMS, Leland Fire Department and New Hanover County EMS.

Clean-up and hazard mitigation continued throughout the day, with some roads reopened on Saturday afternoon. 911 records show the operation was completed after 8:30 p.m.

StarNews contacted American Distillation for comment, and while the operator confirmed the incident occurred in the area near the business, she said she could not provide additional details about the incident. 'incident. A company spokesperson was not available and a message left was not responded to at the time of publication.

According to the Brunswick County news release, no injuries were reported in the incident and no threat to the community was identified.

Erin Wilson, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Labor, said Division of Occupational Safety and Health staff spoke with Brunswick County 911 and since no employees had been transported for medical services, the organization would not open an investigation.

“The employer is not required to report this to our OSH division unless an individual is hospitalized (overnight) for treatment,” Wilson said in an email.

According to the latest Brunswick County update released after 8 p.m. Saturday, officials have de-escalated the situation but said public safety personnel will continue to monitor the area over the next few days “to ensure there are no further public safety concerns.”

Lina Portman

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