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Emergency crews responding to the July 27, 2022 chemical spill at the WeylChem plant near Elgin set up a command post at the Outpost Food Mart on White Pond Road. STAFF PHOTO/ Frank Taylor

Fire crews respond to a toxic chemical release at the WeylChem plant in Elgin, about 25 miles from downtown Columbia, on July 27. Some residents were evacuated and all lanes of Interstate 20 were closed. 

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Emergency crews responding to the July 27, 2022 chemical spill at the WeylChem plant near Elgin set up a command post at the Outpost Food Mart on White Pond Road. STAFF PHOTO/ Frank Taylor

Fire crews respond to a toxic chemical release at the WeylChem plant in Elgin, about 25 miles from downtown Columbia, on July 27. Some residents were evacuated and all lanes of Interstate 20 were closed. 

ELGIN — Toxic vapor leaked from a chemical plant in the rural Kershaw County town of Elgin on July 27 could have had forced a widespread evacuation if it weren’t for the wind.

As a mixture of nitric acid and nitrogen oxides was released into the air from the WeylChem plant, the wind blew the fumes across Interstate 20 away from the dozens of homes nearby.

All lanes of the interstate that connects Aiken to Florence were closed for four hours as the chemical cloud wafted across the highway. An evacuation center was set up as a precaution, if the fumes continued to be released throughout the night — and if the wind changed directions, Kershaw County Administrator Danny Templar said. Only two people went to the evacuation site, he said.

“We were very fortunate to have the wind traveling in the least populated area,” Templar said.

Exactly how the chemicals were released and how much have not been shared publicly. At first, Elgin Mayor Melissa Emmons said workers could not close a valve, but Templar said that’s not the case and that there had been some sort of equipment malfunction or failure.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is investigating the incident 25 miles from Columbia to determine if state regulations were violated. WeylChem is required also to provide the department with a report of its own investigation, the state agency said.

The German-based chemical company has confirmed that the chemical vapor was a mixture of nitric acid and nitrogen oxides. Nitric acid is a colorless liquid that is toxic to inhale and can cause irritation to the skin and eyes, according to the National Institutes of Health. Nitrogen oxides are a family of poisonous, highly reactive gases, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

WeylChem released a statement only referring to the chemical leak as an “incident.” The company said the incident happened at around 5:45 p.m. July 27 and the employees on site were evacuated immediately. The company says no one was injured and there was “full notification to the authorities.”

A 10-mile stretch of I-20 was closed as well as a portion of S.C. Highway 12, but drivers were still able to drive past the chemical plant while fire crews sprayed hoses high into the air to suppress the fumes.

Just after 8 p.m. July 27, Kershaw County Fire Chief Will Glover said the leak was under control. Shortly after 10 p.m., the evacuation advisory for certain residents and businesses was lifted and the roads reopened. A portion of the chemical plant remains closed, but the office and other parts of the plant are up and running.

About a mile from the plant, employees at the Outpost Food Mart said there was an odor like burning plastic as the chemicals leaked July 27, but first responders said there was no need to evacuate, the shop’s owner Steve Kirkland said. He was not at the store when the employees smelled the odor, but said he was in the area and saw a haze drift across the interstate.

Kirkland said employees and customers at the mart would only need to evacuate if the wind changed directions. Since the roads were closed, he decided to close just an hour early at 9 p.m.

The 63-year-old lifetime resident and longtime store owner said the chemical plant has had a change in ownership and names over the years. He remembers reports of spills, but he said there’s been “nothing like this, nothing where people need to evacuate.”

In a subdivision less than half a mile from the plant, many residents said they did not hear of any evacuation efforts.

John Lee, a 66-year-old retired network engineer, said he was sitting on his back porch when the toxic vapor was being released into the air. He did not notice a smell and did not know what was going on at the plant down the street until he got an alert from a television station.

“I was waiting to see if they needed to evacuate us,” Lee said. He added that he and his wife weren’t worried about the incident.

His neighbor, 51-year-old Rob Wilson, said he didn’t hear anything from the county or town officials about the chemical leak. Wilson, a retired U.S. Army major, said his wife drove past the chemical plant and saw the fire trucks. Wilson said he later heard that the Love’s Travel Stop on the other side of I-20 had evacuated.

Another resident said she found out about the chemical on Facebook.

The Kershaw County Facebook page provided information on road closures and updates on the chemical leak. When one person asked if they needed to evacuate, the county’s page said “We would send an official to your home in the event your home needed to be evacuated.”

Others commented on the Kershaw page asking for answers about what type of chemicals and the potential impact they can have on residents and the environment.

One person wrote “what does that mean? A chemical release...accidental I am assuming, and if so, how did the accident happen? How much of the chemical was "released"?”

Efforts to reach the Kershaw County Fire and Emergency Management departments were not successful. DHEC and WeylChem did not answer questions regarding how the leak started. 

DHEC released a statement saying that, based on the information the department has from WeylChem, there are no public health concerns or recommendations.

“It is unlikely that anyone would experience health impacts from this incident,” according to the statement. “However, anyone with any health concerns or questions is encouraged to talk with a healthcare provider.”

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Caitlin Ashworth is a crime reporter for The Post and Courier in Columbia. She spent several years in Thailand before moving to South Carolina.

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