300 gallons of potassium hydroxide spilled at South Carolina plant
Three-hundred gallons of potassium hydroxide were spilled at a Silfab Solar plant in York County, South Carolina, in an incident on Tuesday 3 March.
In a post on Facebook clarifying the incident, York County said that the incident occurred at approximately 09:45 on Tuesday. Emergency responders and a York County hazardous material team were on scene within three minutes, and confirmed that the incident posed no danger to the public, including to the nearby elementary school.
The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services has halted all incoming shipment of chemicals to the site pending an investigation into the incident. York County has also confirmed the incident was reported to the National Response Center, a division of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
According to Yahoo News, Tuesday's spill has reignited long-standing concerns from community members who argue the facility is operating as a heavy industrial site in an area zoned for light industrial use.
Potassium hydroxide is an odourless chemical used in a number of household products, including paint removers and drain cleaner. In solar panel production, it is dissolved in water and is used to make it easier for solar panels to absorb the light needed for energy production.
