YAZOO CITY, Miss. (AP) — An explosion at a hydrogen and nitrogen product manufacturer in Mississippi on Wednesday caused an ammonia leak and forced nearby residents to evacuate, officials reported.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a post on X that emergency officials from across the state responded to the anhydrous ammonia leak at CF Industries’ plant north of Yazoo City. Fortunately, no deaths or injuries have been reported.
“Thank you to all of Mississippi’s first responders and emergency managers for quickly responding to the leak,” Gov. Reeves said.
CF Industries issued a statement confirming that there were no injuries and that “all employees and contractors on site at the time of the incident have been safely accounted for.”
The Yazoo City facility includes an ammonia plant, four nitric acid plants, and other operations. It can store about 48,000 tons of ammonia; however, the exact amount stored at the time of the explosion has not been immediately disclosed.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) stated on X that “air monitoring operations are underway and will continue as long as necessary to ensure public safety.”
Anhydrous ammonia, commonly used as a fertilizer to provide nitrogen for crops such as corn and wheat, can cause burns if a person comes into contact with it in gas or liquid form, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Yazoo City is a small community located about 49 miles (78.9 kilometers) north of Jackson, Mississippi.
https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/explosion-at-mississippi-hydrogen-and-nitrogen-product-manufacturer-causes-ammonia-leak-evacuations/
