Some visit hospital after chemical leak at REC

MOSES LAKE — Eleven people visited the hospital after reportedly breathing chemical fumes released from REC Silicon in Moses Lake.

Connie Opheikens, public information officer with Samaritan Hospital, said as of 11:30 a.m. 11 people had come in complaining of minor respiratory irritation, with eight patients treated and released and three still in diagnosis.

“I imagine we’ll see some stragglers throughout the afternoon,” she said.

Some people in the area of the REC plant claim to have “tasted the cloud”, according to Grant County Sheriff’s spokesman Kyle Foreman, and one or two REC employees were treated at the scene with non life threatening injuries.

About 7 a.m. Friday a chemical cloud was released into the atmosphere from the plant and traveled south/southeast before dissipating, Foreman stated. He said there was no fire associated with the release and, contrary to some early reports, he would not classify the release as an explosion.

He was not certain exactly how many chemicals were released, but at least some of the vapor was composed of Tetrachlorosilane, which Foreman said is one of the chief production chemicals used in the production of solar panels.

According to the McGraw-Hill Science and Technology Dictionary, Tetrachlorosilane is a clear, corrosive, fuming liquid with a suffocating aroma that has been employed in “warfare smoke screens.”

A portion of Interstate 90 and all county roads in the area of the plant, including Wheeler Road, were shut down for about an hour after the chemical release, and Foreman said they were open again by 8:30 a.m.

Area residents were notified to stay indoors for several hours after the release via media outlets and reverse 9-1-1 calls, Foreman said.

Agencies involved in the response included the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Moses Lake Police Department, Moses Lake Fire Department, Grant County Fire District 5, the Washington State Patrol, the Grant County Health District, the Department of Emergency Management and Samaritan Hospital, according to Foreman.

Foreman said he expected further information on the cause of the release and the nature of the chemical cloud will be forthcoming from REC later today. An REC spokesperson did not return calls for comment as of 11:45.