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At approximately 8 a.m. Beaufort County’s Risk Manager, Jennifer Ore, was notified of a hazardous reaction at Beaufort County’s Plymouth Street Booster Station.  It was reported that a vendor was delivering a restock supply of liquid Ammonia sulfate when it was inadvertently combined with sodium hypochlorite.  This mixture began to immediately off-gas, and the delivery process was stopped.  911 was notified and the building was immediately evaluated.

The delivery driver was transported by EMS for evaluation.

Emergency Crews to include Washington Fire Rescue, Washington Police Department, Beaufort County Emergency Services, NC Emergency Management and HRRT of Williamston have responded to this incident.

Several local businesses have been evacuated as a precaution.  This mixture is no longer off-gassing and is contained in its original poly container.

This mixture was not introduced into our water supply, and there are no impacts to the quality of our county-provided drinking water.

We continue to ask people to avoid the 3^rd and 4^th street areas of Plymouth Street.

The following update was provided at 12:54 p.m. – 

The delivery company’s contracted clean-up crew has safely transferred the mixed chemicals to a secured travel container and will be transporting the product offsite for safe disposal.  Beaufort County’s Plymouth Street Booster Station has been released for normal operations and all responders are in the process of clearing the area now.

All previously evacuated businesses are now in the process of reopening.

We would like to thank our citizens and visitors for remaining clear of the Plymouth Street area of Washington while crews responded to this incident.  We would also like to remind everyone that this incident did not impact the quality of drinking water provided by Beaufort County and there are no atmospheric threats to our community.

We would also like to thank Washington Fire/Rescue/EMS, Washington Police Department the Regional Response Team from Williamston, NC Emergency Management, Beaufort County Public Works & Beaufort County Office of Emergency Services for their prompt and professional response.