Two dead, one critical after chemical release at West Virginia plant

Two workers died and a third person was in critical condition after a chemical release at Catalyst Refiners Inc. in Institute, a Kanawha County industrial community about 10 miles west of Charleston. Officials said the release happened around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, during shutdown work at the plant, and affected 21 people in all.

Authorities said the incident began when nitric acid reacted with another substance, creating hydrogen sulfide. One report said the material may have included an M2000A chemical. The plant, owned and operated by Ames Goldsmith Corp., produces silver catalyst and recovery products. Company president Frank Barber said the two people who died were employees and called it an “unfathomably difficult time” for the company.

Nineteen people were hospitalized or sought medical treatment, including seven ambulance or emergency responders who were exposed while answering the call. Patients reported respiratory symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and itchy eyes. One patient remained in critical condition as hospitals treated those affected.

Officials said the fumes were contained within one building and no residential areas were affected. Still, the release triggered a shelter-in-place order across the surrounding area, and West Virginia State University canceled classes for the rest of the day. The shelter-in-place order was lifted after more than five hours, but Route 25 near the facility remained closed as crews kept working around the site.

The incident struck a region with a long and painful record of chemical disasters, renewing scrutiny of industrial safety in the Kanawha Valley and the readiness of emergency systems that respond to it. West Virginia has faced major environmental and workplace crises before, including the 2014 Elk River chemical spill and the 2020 Optima Belle explosion that killed a worker. In Institute, the immediate focus remained on the dead, the injured and the unanswered questions about how a shutdown process at a chemical plant produced a reaction severe enough to send emergency crews and nearby institutions scrambling.