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Old 08-28-2008, 10:39 PM
 
Location: Charleston, WV
3,106 posts, read 7,358,095 times
Reputation: 845

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Hope this is OK to post on this forum -
There was an explosion at the Bayer Plant in Institute so there is a shelter in place in towns around it. Rt. 64 is shut down in both directions as well as Rt. 25 and I believe Rt. 60. No real info released but TV is saying to put towels under doors, turn off air, bring dogs in, etc. Towns for shelter are Institute, Cross Lanes, Dunbar, St. Albans, and South Charleston.

Explosion made my house rumble - I'm about 3-5 miles from it.

I think I have a black cloud following me this week.

Was supposed to leave for Grand Cayman yesterday AM but cancelled an hour before our flight cuz of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Gustav. Read a lot on the net about the buildings being boarded up, businesses closing, lines at gas stations, etc. and decided it was not conducive for a stress-free vacation. Was also worried that would get there and then be evacuated the next day - guess that has been proven to be true. While there may not be an "official" evacuation of tourists I've been reading about all the tourists being strongly urged to leave and the added flights from Cayman to accommodate evacuation. Also, Cayman has banned anyone except residents from entering the island.

Oh well, I shouldn't complain, I am blessed that I am not in harm's way. God bless to the people of GC (hope Gustav misses them) and to the people who work at Bayer and the people in the immediate area. Hope all are safe.

Last edited by vec101; 08-28-2008 at 10:44 PM.. Reason: typo
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Old 08-28-2008, 11:55 PM
 
638 posts, read 1,845,758 times
Reputation: 218
For those with concerns : 304 746 8828

Live News?
Boombox - Powered by Modavox, Inc.T

Article
http://wvgazette.com/latest/200808280743

Shelter in Place Warning (lifted at 2:00am)
National Weather Service Watch Warning Advisory Summary

Last edited by r601020; 08-29-2008 at 12:15 AM..
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Old 08-29-2008, 11:08 PM
 
Location: Doddridge County
404 posts, read 1,185,251 times
Reputation: 119
Quote:
Originally Posted by vec101 View Post
Hope this is OK to post on this forum -
There was an explosion at the Bayer Plant in Institute so there is a shelter in place in towns around it. Rt. 64 is shut down in both directions as well as Rt. 25 and I believe Rt. 60. No real info released but TV is saying to put towels under doors, turn off air, bring dogs in, etc. Towns for shelter are Institute, Cross Lanes, Dunbar, St. Albans, and South Charleston.

Explosion made my house rumble - I'm about 3-5 miles from it.

I think I have a black cloud following me this week.

Was supposed to leave for Grand Cayman yesterday AM but cancelled an hour before our flight cuz of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Gustav. Read a lot on the net about the buildings being boarded up, businesses closing, lines at gas stations, etc. and decided it was not conducive for a stress-free vacation. Was also worried that would get there and then be evacuated the next day - guess that has been proven to be true. While there may not be an "official" evacuation of tourists I've been reading about all the tourists being strongly urged to leave and the added flights from Cayman to accommodate evacuation. Also, Cayman has banned anyone except residents from entering the island.

Oh well, I shouldn't complain, I am blessed that I am not in harm's way. God bless to the people of GC (hope Gustav misses them) and to the people who work at Bayer and the people in the immediate area. Hope all are safe.
I was keeping up with what was happening on the wsaz web site (no tv at my house). Glad to hear that the chemicals released weren't as bad as it could have been.

Just how helpful would a shelter in place be if it were a worst case situation?

Are there evacuation plans in place in case of a major chemical event?
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Old 08-31-2008, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Charleston, WV
3,106 posts, read 7,358,095 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharedspirit View Post
I was keeping up with what was happening on the wsaz web site (no tv at my house). Glad to hear that the chemicals released weren't as bad as it could have been.
Just how helpful would a shelter in place be if it were a worst case situation? - Probably somewhat but probably not a lot.

Are there evacuation plans in place in case of a major chemical event? - I'm sure there are but I have no idea what they are.

WVSU (College) is right next door to the plants - I know the plan used to be that the students would all go to certain locations on campus (auditorium, etc). We used to comment that was just so all the bodies would be in one place - it wasn't like they had gas masks on hand -- at least not that we knew of. They would hold practice drills and there were a couple times there were real alerts. One time I got to campus only to realize I was about the only person walking around outside.

I understand how people get complacent about hurricane warnings, etc. - no one I know really gets very concerned when there is an alert at a chemical plant. (Well, I guess the people working there do or those who live right beside the plant may. No students I knew were very concerned even during an alert).
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Old 09-01-2008, 07:41 PM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,805,881 times
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My mother lives in Dunbar and had it not been for my brother (who lives in Beckley) calling her, she'd never have known about it. About 30 minutes after the event the local police went down the street with a loudspeaker, but my brother had long since heard about it where HE lives and already called her. Luckily so, as she had her A/C on and was able to turn it off.

I've never really known how an evacuation could possibly work during a chemical leak. Chemicals traveling in the air travel very quickly. By the time they alarms go off and you figure out what's going on and that you need to evacuate, poof - it's already there. I suppose those living in the nondirect path of it have time to get out, though.

Growing up there and now decades later, I'm still surprised that no one there on the State level has ever come up with a reasonably priced "chemical evac kit" for home use, that would have some effective masks, gloves, tape for taping windows or under doors, etc. A generic standard kit in a bag that folks could buy and keep handy in home or car just in case.
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Old 09-01-2008, 08:06 PM
 
Location: Western Pennsylvania
2,429 posts, read 7,221,075 times
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vec,

The advantage of shelters is that it provides a single place of contact for emergency services, instead of having to go door to door. Also, if further evacuation is necessary, all the people are in one place (hopefully).

ag,

Not all chemicals travel quickly. Some are heavier than air, pool in low areas. Plus a lot depends on prevailing winds, are there drafts created by combustion, etc.
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