Wire reporting: (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

A tank at the MC Tank Transport terminal at 1266 Progress Ave. in north Toledo, Ohio, began leaking glycidyl methacrylate at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, WTOL 11 reported³. The city and the company identified the chemical, which is used to make some plastics, paints and coatings perform better^1,2.

Toledo Fire and Rescue ordered people within a mile to evacuate at 10:48 p.m. Tuesday and people within 3 miles to shelter in place at 4:24 a.m. Wednesday¹. WTOL counted 983 residents in the 1-mile zone³, and the Associated Press reported the shelter order covered more than 50,000 people, reaching just into Michigan^4,5. At 5 p.m. Wednesday the fire department cut the evacuation zone to half a mile and lifted the shelter orders^2,3.

By Thursday afternoon the remaining evacuation zone was a quarter-mile around the terminal, and residents and businesses inside it were still required to stay out, WTOL reported¹². Battalion Chief Tony Santiago said hazmat crews entered the site that day for air monitoring and container assessment and found conditions safe enough to restart refrigeration equipment¹². 13 ABC reported that residents of Rain Tree Village were returning after nearly two days away once the zone shrank⁹.

On Friday, Lucas County EMA lifted the remaining quarter-mile evacuation around 11:45 a.m., 13 ABC reported, so people in that radius could return¹⁶. ClickOnDetroit put the lift at about 12:15 p.m. and quoted the city as saying hazmat crews found no detectable hazards on re-entry and that the facility was safe to turn over to the company owners and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for cleanup¹⁵. 13 ABC said a city spokesperson announced Thursday night that the tank had stopped releasing the chemical, nearly 48 hours after it began¹⁶. EPA officials and Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz were holding a Friday afternoon briefing¹⁶. The Blade's headline said the evacuation was lifted and that Ohio EPA identified a cause tied to transporting the material; this desk could not read the full article¹⁷.

Officials chose to let the tank vent instead of sending crews close, because it could explode within about 12 hours of the leak^1,3. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said drones showed the tank cooling and less gas escaping, and that the city was calling the incident a leak, not an explosion, since the 911 caller reported no blast, WTOL reported³. The AP's headline described the tank as having exploded^4,5.

Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency said the release came from an error while the material was being transferred^2,4. WTOL reported Wednesday afternoon that officials had not confirmed a cause³.

Kapszukiewicz said air measurements by federal and city teams "have not revealed anything that would be harmful to human health"². A Lucas County sheriff's deputy who felt unwell drove himself to a hospital¹, and the AP reported that the ProMedica health system evaluated about 30 people with possible symptoms, most of them treated and released^4,5. On Thursday the city said 57 people had been treated at local hospitals for incident-related symptoms, with about 7 still being treated and none in serious condition, WTOL reported¹².

The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department issued guidance Wednesday evening for people returning home: air out homes with open windows and doors, follow official guidance before running heating or cooling systems, wipe down hard surfaces and car door handles, wash sealed food containers and contaminated clothing, and throw out uncovered food and open pet food^7,8. WTOL reported that people in the former 3-mile shelter zone were cleared to return, while the half-mile evacuation zone was still in force as of 7:45 p.m. Wednesday⁸. Ohio State University Extension recommended disposing of produce and crops outside that lifted 3-mile zone¹².

The fire department said contact with the chemical can make the eyes, nose, mouth and skin feel like they are burning, and that overexposure can cause headache, dizziness, tiredness, nausea and vomiting; it told anyone who thinks they are reacting to it to contact a medical professional⁶. The health department also told people to watch for watering eyes, coughing, rashes or dizziness, to get to fresh air if symptoms start, and to seek medical care in an emergency^7,8. Residents with questions can call Engage Toledo at 419-936-2020 rather than 911, WTOL reported³. This is a news report, not medical advice.

Lucas County issued an IPAWS Extreme local-area emergency at 8:59 a.m. EDT Friday headed "UPDATE for HAZMAT Incident," rated Immediate and Observed, expiring at 2:59 p.m. EDT; the alert text was blank¹⁴. The Philadelphia Inquirer later posted an Associated Press wire whose headline said the mayor attributed the leak to employee error and that remaining evacuations were lifted; that Inquirer page returned 404 here and is not used for additional facts¹⁸. WTOL 11 posted a Friday story on the mayor and EPA briefing; the page this desk could retrieve was still the pre-conference notice that the tank had stopped releasing Thursday night, and later fetches of the updated recap were blocked¹⁹. WKYC later posted the same TEGNA article URL; this desk could not retrieve the Cleveland page either²⁰.

Sources

1. CBS NewsChemical leak in Toledo forces evacuations, shelter-in-placeOct 22, 12:40 AM
2. WXYZChemical release in Toledo prompts evacuations, shelter-in-place ordersOct 21, 5:36 PM
3. WTOL 11TOLEDO CHEMICAL LEAK | Evacuation radius reduced to 1/2 mile radius of incident site, shelter in place order liftedOct 21, 5:47 PM
4. (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)A chemical tank explodes in Ohio, forcing evacuations and prompting fears of another blastAlso (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)Oct 21, 1:00 PM
5. APA chemical tank explodes in Ohio, forcing evacuations and prompting fears of another blastOct 21, 10:00 AM

WLWT · 13 ABC · WTOL 11+11 moreHide

1. WLWTEvacuation order issued in Toledo, Ohio, after chemical releaseOct 21, 11:27 PM
2. 13 ABCHealth department issues tips for return home after chemical leak evacuationOct 22, 6:14 AM
3. WTOL 11Safety protocol announced by health department for chemical leak evacuees returning to home, workOct 21, 7:57 PM
4. 13 ABCFamilies describe nearly two days away from home after chemical leak evacuationOct 22, 7:53 PM
5. WTOL 11'Something out of a movie': Toledo family recounts escape during chemical leakOct 22, 9:11 PM
6. WKYCToledo tank no longer releasing chemical material as hazmat crews continue on-site assessment; Evacuation zone remains quarter-mile radiusOct 22, 9:42 PM
7. WTOL 11Hazmat incident crews make entry on site, evacuation zone remains quarter-mile radiusOct 22, 9:28 PM
8. cleveland.comChemical spill in Toledo stops; evacuation zone remainsOct 22, 11:07 PM
9. Lucas CountyUPDATE for HAZMAT IncidentOct 23, 8:59 AM
10. ClickOnDetroitEvacuation orders lifted days after chemical leak in ToledoOct 23, 12:56 PM
11. 13 ABCToledo evacuation order lifted following chemical release, city to release data information FridayOct 23, 1:05 PM
12. Toledo BladeEvacuation order lifted; cause of chemical release identifiedOct 23, 11:50 AM
13. WTOL 11Emergency portion of Toledo chemical leak ends. Here's what the mayor says caused the incidentOct 23, 2:05 PM
14. WKYCEmergency portion of Toledo chemical leak ends. Here's what the mayor says caused the incidentOct 23, 4:08 PM

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