Decatur Fire Department personnel respond to a reported ammonia leak Sunday at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. BioProducts plant in Decatur.
DECATUR — Employees at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. BioProducts plant in Decatur were evacuated Sunday afternoon after an anhydrous ammonia leak was detected.
Firefighters with the Decatur Fire Department responded to the scene at 2:50 p.m. to help deal with the leak, and ADM said later Sunday there had been no injuries.
At 4:45 p.m. ADM released an emailed statement after being contacted for comment by the Herald & Review. "This afternoon employees detected an ammonia leak at ADM's BioProducts facility in Decatur," the statement said.Â
"The facility was evacuated while authorities assisted in detecting and fixing the leak. No one was injured. We are investigating the cause and working to resume operations."Â
Wade Watson, a battalion chief with the Decatur Fire Department, said Sunday evening that some 15 firefighters worked the incident from roughly 2:30 until 5 p.m. He said the leak, which appeared like white steam, was contained within a single building, but he does not know how much of the gas leaked.
Decatur Fire Department's special operations unit arrives Sunday at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. plant in Decatur. It was called to the BioProducts facility to assist with a reported ammonia leak.
Watson said ADM personnel took the lead in dealing with the incident, with firefighters backing them up and acting as their "decontamination unit," which meant washing off the employees after they emerged from the leak area.Â
"Anhydrous is an inhalation hazard and it burns your wet tissues, mucous membranes, your eyes, and it can burn your lungs," added Watson. "And when it mixes with water it creates sulphuric acid."
Watson said water is still effective at neutralizing it, however, if used in sufficient quantities.
"The ADM building has what is called a deluge system that floods the entire area with water and is able to knock down any vapor cloud," he said. "I am not sure if it is an automatic system or if they had to operate it, but it was running when we got there."Â
Watson said ADM employees had been able to shut down valves connected to large tanks to contain and limit the leakage.
"So what really leaked was what was in the lines," he added.Â
Watson said ADM is investigating the cause of the incident and had plant managers and other experts on scene Sunday. He confirmed there were no injuries and the leak was contained within ADM property and presented no danger to the public. Â
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, middle right, chats with attendees in the Archer Daniels Midland Co. tent.
A LOOK BACK
1942: Cars are parked outside of Archer Daniels Midland Co.
A LOOK BACK
1977: The clarifier, the third step in the treatment process, will remove sludge from waste generated by the Archer Daniels Midland Co. complex.
A LOOK BACK
1967: As part of the Archer Daniels Midland Co. West Plant expansion, 1900 Samuels St., three 15,000-barrel tanks are being moved. The tank at left base. In order to move the tanks, a dike was built and the channel lined with 30,000 square feet of plastic. Water was then pumped into it so the tanks could be floated. At bottom right, a truck tows one of the 50-ton oil tanks down the canal. When the expansion was announced, it was to double the facilities.
A LOOK BACK
1984: Bob Ryan of Archer Daniels Midland Co. explains lettuce production in a hydroponics greenhouse to group of National Outstanding Young Farmer candidates.
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Mark Schweitzer, managing director of transportation for Archer Daniels Midland Co. talks with freshman state representatives Terri Bryant, Reggie Phillips, Litesa Wallace, Randy Frese and Carol Ammons during a tour Tuesday of ADM's intermodal rail facility.
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Nathan Hardeman, 20, of Moweaqua, drives through the Archer Daniels Midland Co. trucking yard in Decatur in November. Hardeman, hired when he was 19, is ADM Trucking's youngest driver, and has just started working local routes.Â
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Jeremy Milligan, a business solutions analyst for Archer Daniels Midland Co., was selected by his classmates as Millikin University's Professional Adult Comprehensive Education, or PACE, programs student of the year. The university's winter graduation is Sunday.
Archer Daniels Midland Co.
1980: Richard Burket, right, shows Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., around the Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s east plant. Condenser towers are pictured in the background. (H&R file photo)
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Debbie Sarko, with Archer Daniels Midland Co., speaks about truck driver expectations at ADM during an information session about Richland Community College's Truck Driver Training program on Thursday.
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Decatur's Archer Daniels Midland Co. has seen many developments over the course of 2013.
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The Archer Daniels Midland Co. logo is seen on a tanker truck at the ADM facility in Decatur.
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An operator sorts containers with a side lift crane at the new intermodal rail facility as part of the Archer Daniels Midland Co. plant.
Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid
