Richard Agnes and Brian Sheets of the Scott Fire Department attempt to save Vince Reinhart from his exposure to Anhydrous Ammonia.
Mercer Landmark hosted the Emergency training session for the Paulding County EMS and fire rescue squads. This event took place on Saturday, June 22nd near Latty next to the railroad tracks. It was to simulate the “what would happen if an Anhydrous Ammonia leak would happen” and how to work with a potentially dangerous situation. Anhydrous Ammonia is used in farming and greatly contributes to the growth of field corn.
“Emergency exercises like this are used for training and are supposed to be conducted every two years,” according to Fred Pieper, Paulding County Commissioner, “It’s part of the county being compliant with the state.” Ben Snyder, Safety coordinator for all of Mercer Landmark stated they must do this every four years for their company to stay compliant in their industry.
Anhydrous Ammonia must be stored and handled under high pressure, requiring specially designed and well-maintained equipment. In addition, to ensure their safety, workers must be adequately educated about the procedures and personal protective equipment required to safely handle this product.
What is anhydrous ammonia, and why is it so risky to handle? It is a chemical made up of one part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen. The properties of this fertilizer make it one of the most potentially dangerous chemicals used in agriculture. Ammonia gas is colorless and has a sharp, penetrating odor. When used as an agricultural fertilizer, it is compressed into a liquid.
The word “anhydrous” means without water. Consequently, when anhydrous ammonia comes in contact with any moisture, the water and ammonia rapidly combine. When injected into the soil, the liquid ammonia expands into a gas and is readily absorbed in the soil moisture. Similarly, in contact with your eyes, skin, or mucous membranes, ammonia will cause rapid dehydration and severe burns as it combines with the moisture of the body.
Payne Fire Chief, Jamie Mansfield, was the controller for the joint drill and he thought everything went pretty well as planned with only a few very minor corrections to make. The whole event took place over a two and a half hour period of time, starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Sheriff’s Office in Paulding.
The call was put in by Ben Snyder that three people were exposed to the gas at the Latty facility. Vince Reinhart, Jenn Zartman and Rylee Zartman were the people who participated as the victims.
To simulate the emergency procedures, the Scott, Payne, and Grover Hill Fire Departments in mutual aid, brought in their EMS’ and fire trucks and set up a spray down facility to wash off the chemicals. Severals others including Antwerp and Van Wert, were also there for observation. Next, the patients were transported by EMS to the nearest facility. Bill Edwards of the Paulding County Health Department, was very pleased with the turnout of the county emergency squads coming together for this training
Following the local rescue squads, the Allen County, Ohio Hazmat Emergency vehicles arrived on the scene to investigate and clean up the spill, also helping if there were more victims.
Is Paulding County ready for a disaster such as a chemical spill? Officials stated, “Absolutely!” Each of the responders had their job and they successfully worked together.
This is a good time of year to practice working with a chemical spill emergency. Tornadoes go through that specific area between Paulding and Van Wert Counties nearly every year and this would be one of the major contributors to damaging an Anhydrous Ammonia tank. Nearly 150 people contributed and/or watched the event along the US highway.
