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Thick smoke billows from Mississippi chemical plant fire
Drone footage shows thick smoke rising from Loveland Products in Greenville, Mississippi, after an explosion sparked a fire at the facility. Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order because of potentially hazardous smoke, but lifted it several hours later. No injuries were reported. (Credit: Willie Moore Jr via Storyful)
Emergency crews responded Wednesday to an explosion at a chemical plant in Greenville, Mississippi, that sent a large plume of black smoke into the air.
Dig deeper:
City officials said in a news release that crews were notified shortly after 7 a.m. CST about an explosion at the Loveland Products plant. Greenville, located in the Mississippi Delta, has a population of about 26,000 and is roughly 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Jackson, the state capital.
No injuries were immediately reported, said Sara Moreland Hester, a deputy emergency management director for Washington County and a local firefighter. By midday, Hester said the fire had been extinguished and firefighters were completing their work at the scene.
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According to preliminary information from plant management, the explosion involved a fire associated with a herbicide chemical, the city said.
Black smoke rises from the Loveland Products chemical plant in Greenville, Mississippi, after an explosion Wednesday. (Credit: Willie Moore Jr via Storyful)
What they're saying:
Nutrien, Loveland’s parent company, said plant leaders were working with first responders. Loveland, which is based in Loveland, Colorado, produces fertilizer, plant nutrition and crop protection products.
Residents near the plant were asked to shelter in place for several hours because of potentially hazardous smoke. The order was lifted shortly before noon in the mostly rural area on the city’s eastern edge.
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What's next:
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said its emergency response team and an air-monitoring contractor were assessing potential impacts on air quality.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. Information for this story came from a news release issued by the city of Greenville, statements from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and Nutrien, and comments from Sara Moreland Hester, a Washington County deputy emergency management director and local firefighter. This story was reported from Los Angeles.