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Chemical leak in Seville: Shelter-in-place order lifted; Ohio EPA says leak caused by cracked pipe

Two BleachTech employees suffered minor injuries. Medina County emergency management officials say Ryan Road will remain closed as the cleanup continues.

SEVILLE, Ohio — Crews are continuing cleanup efforts in Medina County after a chemical leak at BleachTech, which is located at 320 Ryan Road in Seville. 

The shelter-in-place order that was first sent out Monday morning has been lifted. Officials emphasize that none of the leaked material has left the BleachTech property.

The Ohio EPA says the leak of the 30,000-gallon tank of hydrochloric acid was caused by a cracked pipe. The leak happened at around 10:30 a.m. and was flowing to the tank’s secondary containment unit. However, that unit also had a leak. 

The Medina County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post on Monday morning that "the leak is under control," but everybody within a half-mile radius "should shelter in place until further notice." Just after 2 p.m., the sheriff's office and Medina County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security announced that the radius had been reduced to a quarter-mile and only neighboring businesses on Ryan Road should shelter in the building. 

At 4:30 p.m., Medina County emergency management officials announced that the shelter-in-place warning was lifted, stating that there was "no longer a hazard to the area businesses." In addition, two employees of Bleachtech received minor injuries and self-transported to Wadsworth Hospital.

Ryan Road will remain closed for the duration of the incident for operations taking place on the roadway.

The Ohio EPA and Medina County emergency management leaders say HAZMAT crews are working to transfer the liquid from the secondary containment tank to individual storage tanks. Some of the acid left the containment area and entered a nearby retention pond on site. 

The Medina County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security says a small crew will remain on scene monitoring cleanup operations.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 15th, 2024 Seville Hazmat Incident Update - Final Seville, OH – At 0950 on January...

Posted by Medina County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security on Monday, January 15, 2024

BleachTech's site says they're a privately owned company based in Cleveland "with operating chlor-alkali plants to produce sodium hypochlorite (bleach)" in Seville and Petersburg, Virginia.

Credit: Danielle Wiggins, 3News

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