Update: Situation at Clean Harbors in El Dorado under control

At approximately 4:00 pm on December 18, a trailer containing pool chemicals was reported to have a reaction which caused a large cloud to appear over our transportation yard and move northerly toward the Union County Sheriff’s Office and Correctional Facility.

Local authorities called for an evacuation of the correctional facility at the Union County Sheriff’s Department. According to Sheriff Mike McGough the inmates were transported to another secure facility without incident. Traffic was rerouted around the area by local authorities until the incident was under control and safe.

The incident occurred when a trailer containing chlorinated pool chemicals had a reaction and released a cloud of chlorinated gas. The cloud moved north toward the Union County Sheriff’s Department which caused traffic to be rerouted and the Sheriff’s Department to be evacuated. There were no injuries reported in this incident. According to Fire Chief Chad Mosby, there was no fire present in the trailer as well. The reaction in now under control by Clean Harbors Emergency Response Teams and the trailer of chemicals is being monitored as well as air quality in the surrounding area.

According to Jerry Thomas, Director of the Union County Emergency Management we are glad to report that this incident is over with no injuries reported. Thanks to the coordinated efforts we were able to minimize this situation. We also want to acknowledge the offer of assistance extended from El Dorado Chemical and Great Lakes to provide help along with air quality monitoring.

Stay with KTBS 3 News and ktbs.com for more updates as they become available.