North Toledo residents seek reimbursement after chaotic chemical leak evacuation
Jennifer Stacey evacuated her North Toledo home last Tuesday night when a chemical plume spread into her neighborhood. She and other residents want financial reimbursement and better emergency alerts following the event.
The leak started at MC Tank Transport on Progress Avenue. A chemical reaction sent dense plumes of glycidyl methacrylate into the air.
Stacey lives in Raintree Village, located just under a mile from the facility. She said the plume did not look or smell like ordinary fog.
“It smelled horrible. Like when you have a car leak and you put your hand and your oil underneath it’s leaking and you smell it and you’re like, oh, that’s definitely oil… It definitely was not fog, but it was like a deep, dense fog. Like if you’re in an airplane, you want to put your hand out the window and you want to touch the clouds, that’s how dense it was,” Stacey said.
Residents said they received little advance warning. First responders came through the area with megaphones telling everyone to leave.
Stacey said she had 10 minutes to gather her three children and her dog. She also assisted vulnerable neighbors before leaving the area.
“I’m a nice person. So I ran to the elder people. I actually messed up my toe… You got handicapped over here. Wheelchairs. And you got older people that didn’t even know what was going on. Is it a megaphone or not? That ain’t gonna happen,” Stacey said.
Officials first directed evacuees to a local Meijer. They later expanded the evacuation zone across North Toledo.
The change forced Stacey and her family to search across town for pet-friendly hotels. She noted the sudden financial burden on displaced families.
“The hotel rooms and stuff that everybody else had to pay for to evacuate that fast should not be on our dime. Considering it wasn’t our fault and we all had to just get up and go. Nobody can just afford that randomly. It’s not in our budget,” she said.
Dozens of people sought medical attention for symptoms stemming from the release. City officials confirmed the vented tank is now empty.
City officials also said preliminary data indicates air readings never rose to toxic levels. Neighbors said they want industrial sites and the city to establish faster alert systems.
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department monitors community wellness and responds to environmental hazards. The agency provides public resources and health guidance during local emergencies. It assists residents who experience exposure to airborne irritants.
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department set up a dedicated hotline for Toledo residents experiencing lingering respiratory symptoms or eye irritation.
