A shelter-in-place order was issued for nearby residents after an explosion and fire at the Loveland Products chemical plant in Greenville, Mississippi, on Wednesday morning, WMC Action News 5 reported.
The explosion was reported shortly after 7 a.m. on 4 November at the facility, formerly known as Platte Chemical. The Washington County Emergency Operations Center issued the order just before 9:30 a.m. because of concern about potentially hazardous smoke, WMC reported. It applied to nearby areas bounded by Highway 182 and VFW Road, from Beauchamp to Kuehn Road.
WJTV, citing the City of Greenville, said preliminary information from plant management linked the fire to a herbicide chemical in a “hot box”. The cause of the explosion has not been established in the supplied reports.
Fire departments, regional hazardous-materials teams and state environmental personnel responded. WMC reported that EPA investigators were also at the scene. The Associated Press, in a report carried by KTVN, said the blast sent a large plume of black smoke into the air.
No injuries were immediately reported, according to the AP report, which cited Washington County deputy emergency management director Sara Moreland Hester. She said the fire was controlled by midmorning but had not been fully extinguished.
Loveland’s parent company, Nutrien, said the fire was “being managed” and plant leadership was working with first responders, the AP reported. Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons urged residents to avoid the immediate area while officials assessed the situation, according to WJTV.
The reports do not establish the cause of the explosion or confirm whether the shelter-in-place order was later lifted. Residents were urged to follow official emergency instructions.
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