Chlorine leak at Mead Johnson;7 treated

ZEELAND, Mich. (WOOD) - A chlorine leak at Mead Johnson's Zeeland facility sent seven people to the hospital for treatment, though officials said their injuries are not severe.

Workers were evacuated after an alarm went off at the plant, 725 E. Main in Zeeland, just after the lunch hour was over.

Dan Martinez, who just happened to be walking by, took pictures of the chlorine leak from outside the plant and sent them to 24 Hour News 8 through Report It . Fumes were spewing out of the building through spaces around a closed door.
 
"I was coming back from the credit union and it wasn't so much what I saw but what I could smell," he told 24 Hour News 8. "The fumes were overwhelming. I worked in a chemical plant before, so I know right away that it wasn't something good."

He said he was worried because of "the bus drivers, the lawn service guys out here, and nobody was telling anybody else to stop. And, finally, they did close down the road, but it took quite a few minutes."

Firefighters found no need to evacuate the neighborhood, but they took other precautions with a ball field across the street.

"We kept the school children from coming out here to play soccer," Zeeland Fire Chief Bill Gruppen told 24 Hour News 8. "The wind is blowing pretty, it's a pretty good wind that helped it dissipate into the air."

Two people from Valley City Environmental Services responded and determined a 150-pound chlorine cylinder, used to treat water, was leaking. One of the crew, Eric Beckman, used a wrench to turn off the cylinder, which is about 5.5 feet tall.

Beckman said it was a low level of chlorine.

An Ottawa County hazmat team arrived on scene and hosed down the crew from Valley City Environmental Services.

Five adults were treated at Zeeland Hospital and two others at Holland Hospital. Officials there told 24 Hour News 8 some were just getting oxygen. The hospital was not affected.

The CDC says chlorine is an element used in industry and found in some household products, and is sometimes in the form of a poisonous gas. It's recognized by its irritating odor, like bleach. It's not flammable, but it can react explosively or form explosive compounds.

Chlorine gas appears to be yellow-green in color.

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24 Hour News 8's Ken Kolker contributed to this report.