Chemical Leak At West Virginia Silver Recovery Plant Kills 2 And Injures 19

A chemical leak at the Catalyst Refiners silver recovery plant near Institute, West Virginia, during shutdown preparations killed two workers and injured 19.

Officials said all deaths and injuries occurred on site and 19 people were hospitalized, with seven of the injured identified as ambulance workers who had responded to the release. Local authorities ordered a shelter-in-place for the surrounding area for more than five hours while crews ran a large decontamination operation that required people to remove clothing and be sprayed down. Ames Goldsmith Corp., the plant owner, expressed sorrow and pledged to cooperate with local, state and federal investigators.

Preliminary reporting described a chemical release but later coverage found the accident involved a violent, instantaneous overreaction during shutdown preparations when nitric acid mixed with another substance. The Wall Street Journal reported the released gas as hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic, flammable chemical that can be lethal at high concentrations. Officials and the company said the gas was not widely detectable beyond close proximity to the facility, suggesting limited off-site exposure. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies are on scene to determine how the reaction occurred and whether safety lapses contributed.

Coverage of the incident shifted as more details emerged; initial accounts called it a generic "chemical emergency" without naming the agent. The New York Times provided early confirmation of the two deaths and described the emergency at the plant but did not specify the chemicals involved. PBS News later identified the facility as Catalyst Refiners and detailed a violent nitric-acid reaction, and The Wall Street Journal then named hydrogen sulfide as the released gas. That reporting narrowed uncertainty about how hazardous the event was and why emergency crews had to conduct mass decontamination on site.