Nearly 500 evacuated after chemical release in El Dorado

The marker indicates the site of Clean Harbors' Recycling Services facility in El Dorado, where a chemical release caused the evacuation of nearly 500 people in the area Tuesday.
The marker indicates the site of Clean Harbors' Recycling Services facility in El Dorado, where a chemical release caused the evacuation of nearly 500 people in the area Tuesday.

Authorities have evacuated nearly 500 people after a chemical release at an El Dorado plant.

Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Tommy Jackson said that initial reports indicated a fire within the Clean Harbors' Recycling Services facility could have exposed area citizens to unhealthy amounts of a chlorine-based cleansing agent that is stored within the plant.

The area where the fire was believed to have started was holding 1,249 five-gallon buckets of the cleansing agent.

The Union County sheriff's office evacuated a five-mile line of residents, heading north, due to a chemical cloud that was traveling from the facility in that direction. The sheriff's office, along with its staff and 190 inmates, was also evacuated.

There have been no injuries reported, and there is no immediate information on the cause of the fire.

The Clean Harbors Recycling Services facility in El Dorado provides "recycling, reuse and reclamation options for hazardous and non-hazardous materials including solvents, chemicals and oil, light bulbs, transformers and other electrical equipment," according to its website.

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