SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, March 18, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah National Guard deployed to Rio Tinto Kennecott in South Jordan to assist with a chemical spill following Wednesday morning’s 5.7 earthquake.
The Utah National Guard’s 85th Civil Support Team deployed at the request of Salt Lake County “due to a chemical leak caused from this morning’s earthquake,” said a tweet. “The Immediate Response Unit will assist with air monitoring.”
In a news conference, Unified Fire Authority Chief Dan Petersen said hydrochloric acid spilled from a 12,000-gallon tank in a warehouse, but that acid did not mix with any other chemicals.
Officials flew up a drone to check out the situation before entering the warehouse, and that spill is now over.
No one was injured as a result of the incident.
There were no evacuations, but Petersen said there was a vertical plume following the spill.
Petersen said there was no exposure to the public, and there is no risk to the public as the incident occurred completely on Rio Tinto Kennecott property.
Petersen said six Hazmat crews remain on site to monitor the situation.
Unified Police Department also responded to the scene.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this situation as information is made available.
