Chemical spill prompts shelter in place for Jeffersonville residents near industrial area

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jeffersonville officials advised residents near the Ports of Indiana -- formerly called the Clark Maritime Center -- to shelter in place for a few hours after a chemical spill at a steel plant.

According to a post on the Jeffersonville Police Department's Facebook page just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, the spill happened in the 5100 block of Loop Road.

Everyone within a half-mile radius was asked to shelter in place for as a precaution.

The shelter in place was lifted just after 9:30 a.m. That's when Clark County Emergency Management advised the leak was contained to the property with "favorable readings." Air monitoring was to continue in the area.

Jeffersonville Police also posted that the spill was contained and all roads are open.

Clark County Emergency Management Director Gavan Hebner said crews were loading hydrochloric acid into a semi trailer at POSCO -- a plant located at 5140 Loop Road that manufactures steel products like wires, bars and rods -- when a small spill created a cloud in the air.

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