The release of a volatile chemical led to a large emergency response on Saturday at a plant in unincorporated Will County, authorities said.
At around 11:38 a.m., the Channahon Fire Protection District was called to INEOS Styrenics for a hazardous material incident, the fire district said in a news release. Fire crews arrived to facility employees attempting to cool a large container of approximately 5,000 gallons of styrene. Styrene is a liquid used to create polystyrene, a solid plastic.
Staff have been working to maintain the container's temperature since earlier this week, when the facility shifted to generator power after a tornado struck the area. Hazardous materials teams responded to the scene and determined no volatile fumes were being released into the atmosphere and there were no chemical reactions "that could escalate the situation."
The styrene was said to be contained as of 3:12 p.m., and there was no threat to the community, officials stated.
Sounds like the styrene was self-polymerizing - I'd love to know what they did to cool the container down, or how they inhibited the self-heating. (Also, why are they talking about a release?)
