Rumors of gas explosion trigger mass evacuation
An estimated 80-100 persons spent their first night of the year at the Maasin town hall Tuesday after they evacuated their homes for fear that a chlorine leak at the nearby water treatment plant would cause an explosion.
The people who evacuated were mostly residents of the area surrounding the sedimentation basin of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) in Brgy. Buntalan. They returned to their homes yesterday morning after it was clarified that there is no danger of an explosion resulting from the leak.
Engr. Warren Palermo of the MIWD's operations department told The News Today yesterday noon that they have already contained the gas leak Tuesday night, several hours after it occurred.
We buried the one-tonner cylinder containing the highly-corrosive liquid to prevent any further leak, he said. The MIWD uses chlorine to treat the water they supply to their consumers.
At the same time, he downplayed the accident, saying that the leak was only within a 10-meter radius, and did not even escape the compound. It would also have no effect on the potability of the water they supply their consumers.
What happened was the people misunderstood our warning, Palermo said.
We ordered one of our personnel to coordinate with and inform the barangay officials and the surrounding residents of a possible evacuation in case the leak is not contained and it worsens. We decided to inform the officials and the residents of a possible evacuation scenario because the wind was blowing towards the houses. Had it been blowing to the direction of the river, we would not have bothered to because there was no danger to the residents, Palermo said.
But one person who did not even have a personal knowledge of the situation went from house and to house, telling everybody to evacuate that night because the chlorine leak would trigger an explosion, he said.
I heard that municipal officials reprimanded that person who spread the false information of an explosion, he said.
Palermo said that their plant personnel informed them that a one-tonner cylinder containing chlorine had a defective valve, causing a leak. The cylinder measures about a meter by one and a half meter, similarly to but a bit larger than the acetylene tanks.
Technicians placed a rubber cap, but in time the chlorine, being highly-corrosive, ate away the protective cap. It was decided eventually to temporarily bury the cylinder within the compound until Mabuhay Vinyl, the manufacturer-supplier of the chlorine substance, has arrived to replace the defective valve.
As of yesterday afternoon, the Cebu-based manufacturer has yet to arrive and repair the defect. They told us they would take care of the leak, Palermo said.