USA – 1 Dead, 1 Critical In Refinery Accident

A Douglas County plant has reopened after a deadly refinery accident Wednesday.
 
Officials say they’ve taken care of the problem, but residents told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes they’re concerned dangerous gas is still around.
 
Hydrogen sulfide leaked at the Asphalt Refinery and Technical Co., causing one man to go into cardiac arrest. He later died at a nearby hospital.
 
Another worker fell off a 20-foot tower he was working on.  A third man is expected to be OK.
 
“They said a long time ago that if that plant ever blew up, Douglas County would be gone,” said Erica Backston, who lives close to the refinery with her two young children.
 
She told Fernandes she has always been worried about deadly gases in the air.
 
“With my kids right here and the school is right across the tracks, all these kids are in danger from this stuff,” Backston said.
 
NewsChopper 2 flew over the factory Wednesday afternoon as first responders went to the plant because of the hydrogen sulfide gas leak.
 
Douglas County officials told Fernandes that they have tested the air around the refinery and the public has nothing to worry about.
 
But Backston is still concerned.
 
“It could be in my kids’ lungs right now. It could be in mine, you know?” Backston said.
 
Officials at the refinery are investigating what made that deadly gas leak into the air.