ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A shelter in place order has been issued for an area south of the water treatment facility in Allentown after a hazardous materials spill at the building.
Allentown Fire Department Capt. of Public Affairs Jon Hammel says the shelter in place order is in place for an approximately 1-mile distance south of the facility, between 8th Street and Jefferson Street south to Lehigh Street.
Emergency crews responded to the hazardous materials spill at the water treatment facility on Martin Luther King Junior Drive in Allentown.
At this point, the spill is contained to the facility and there are no evacuations other than at the facility.
Taylor Stakes of the Lehigh County Authority says the water system has not been compromised. He says the plant is running without interruption.
Hammel says it was reported at 10 a.m. Friday.
Hammel says several chemicals leaked inside the building, including sodium hypochlorite and polyaluminum chloride being mixed together. When those two are mixed, it creates a toxic vapor. The leak is controlled, he says.
Two ambulance companies are on scene, Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk says.
Five Lehigh County Authority employees were brought to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
Capt. Hammel says Martin Luther King Boulevard will be closed for several hours. Stakes says the road closure extends for most of Martin Luther King Junior Drive, as well as to several side streets.
Tuerk says Stakes told him the spill was due to an employee error, and that the chemical was dumped in the wrong place.
Stakes says the plant’s customer service department is closed for the rest of the day Friday. He says he is asking residents to not come to the plant to try and pay bills.
Tune into WFMZ-TV at Noon for an update.
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