Chemical leak at Wilmington facility

WILMINGTON — A chemical leak at a liquid storage facility in Wilmington kept haz-mat crews busy Friday night.

Around 5 p.m. Friday, a liquid fertilizer known as UAN, or Urea Ammonium Nitrate, began to leak out of a tank that holds more than one million gallons at the Kinder Morgan facility on North Sixth Street.

The chemical is described as a standard farming fertilizer that is mixed with water. It is non-toxic and non-flammable. As of 11:30 p.m. Friday, the liquid was still leaking out of the tank, but crews had it under control. Some had already spilled into a nearby waterway that feeds into Smith Creek.

Kinder Morgan spokesperson Joe Hollier said a large concentration of the fertilizer can kill fish, so crews mixed the water with air pumps. Hollier said there are no other threats to the water or those who live nearby.