Mixture of Nitric and Phosphoric Acid Causes Toxic Cloud in Letterkenny; 17 Hospitalized

At 9:31 a.m. on July 11, Franklin County Emergency Management received a call about a hazardous materials situation at a facility on Development Avenue in Letterkenny Township.

The incident occurred at the AFCO facility in the 800 block, involving a leak that released a mixture of water, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and a dye, according to Shawn Cornwell from the Franklin Fire Company during an afternoon press conference. The combination of these substances produced a yellow gas cloud.

First responders discovered 17 injured individuals upon arrival, all of whom were transported to WellSpan Chambersburg. Cornwell noted that two patients are in stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit, eight were admitted for overnight observation, and the remaining patients were still being evaluated as of 4 p.m.

Chemists from AFCO, along with hazmat teams, fire officials, and the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Agency, remained on the scene to monitor other tanks after containing the leak.

Cornwell mentioned that the AFCO facility operates under a lease from the U.S. government.

In a statement to the Daily Voice, Depot representatives said: “The incident has taken place at a facility leased to a private company outside of depot property.However, a shelter-in-place is in order across Letterkenny Army Depot. We are taking 100% accountability of all our personnel.Emergency services are at the scene to determine the nature and extent of the situation. We will be providing more details as soon as we know more.”

At 1:20 p.m., a Depot spokesperson informed the Daily Voice that the shelter-in-place order was lifted at 12:44 p.m.

Additionally, the Franklin County Prison was also placed under a shelter-in-place order on Thursday morning.

Reports indicate that OSHA is investigating the incident. While OSHA could not confirm this on Thursday, they provided the following statement on Friday morning: “I can confirm that OSHA is investigating this incident. The latest report we have is 15 employees were taken to the hospital. OSHA has a total of six months to investigate and release its findings. No other information is currently available.”

Image credit: Fox 56