Bomb squad detonates volatile chemical at Atchison plant

A deteriorated chemical found inside Atchison Tubular Manufacturing was treated as a serious hazard Friday, with a bomb squad using a controlled detonation to eliminate the threat rather than risk moving it through Atchison’s industrial corridor.

Atchison Fire Chief Patrick Weishaar said crews responded shortly after noon Friday to the plant at 8154 Industrial Park Lane after the chemical was discovered. The material was described as volatile and deteriorated, a combination that signaled a danger to workers at the site and to others nearby in the industrial park.

The decision to destroy the chemical on site points to how quickly an industrial find can turn into a public-safety operation. Atchison Tubular Manufacturing has operated at the location since 1984 and describes the plant as a steel tubular products manufacturer with rail and truck access, which means freight traffic and daily operations move through the same area where the chemical was found.

Atchison County’s emergency-management system is built around that kind of risk. The Atchison County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Division says county response to natural, man-made and technological emergencies is coordinated among local, state and federal agencies, along with volunteer organizations and businesses. Friday’s response showed that structure in practice, with specialized personnel called in to remove a material that could not safely be handled like ordinary industrial waste.

The incident also revived memories of one of the city’s most serious chemical emergencies. In October 2016, two chemicals mixed at the Midwest Grain Products plant site in Atchison and created a chlorine cloud that drifted across the city. More than 140 people sought medical attention, the cloud reportedly stretched nearly six miles and hung over the area for about 45 minutes before emergency personnel stopped the flow.

No injuries, evacuations or contamination details were released in the available account of Friday’s incident, and the specific chemical was not identified. Even so, the controlled detonation made clear that responders considered the threat immediate enough to neutralize at the plant, not store for later handling. It also puts renewed attention on how volatile materials are stored, inspected and discovered at industrial sites that sit close to the city’s working neighborhoods.