Many residents of Miamisburg, Ohio, a town about 10 miles south of Dayton, were rudely awoken Sept. 21 with an explosion at the town’s Isotec Inc. plant.
Firefighters had arrived at Isotec, the world’s largest producer of enriched stable isotopes, earlier in the morning after six plant employees found a nitric oxide leak. At about 10 a.m., a “catastrophic” explosion rocked a distilling column, which produces isotope-enriched nitric oxide. The blast produced a yellow-orange plume of smoke several hundred feet high and blew off a portion of the plant’s roof. Nearly 2,000 people living in homes within a mile of the plant had to be evacuated from their homes.
Weeks after the explosion, the Miami Township trustees and Montgomery County officials – not the plant – are the ones under the microscope.
According to the Associated Press, in a 1997 letter addressed to the township and city, Isotec officials warned the township allowing houses to be built near the factory could expose residents to “potentially dangerous chemicals and gases” and magnify “the risks associated with an accident.” The township ignored the letter and rezoned the area near the company from light industrial to residential development.
While town officials claim they never got a letter, township records prove otherwise. Now, after September’s explosion and a 1998 nitric oxide spill, home owners will most likely see a depression in their property values.
Owning a home near a factory is the choice of the buyer, but it is the duty of the township to advise potential residents on the dangers associated with the close proximity of a chemical plant. While there will be no serious effects of September’s explosion, many residents are becoming worried of the possible dangers. These fears are only going to get worse with residents believing the township tried to cover up the risks in order to increase the number of homes built close to the factory.
Moving the factory is out of the question as it would only create more problems for township officials and cut off a large portion of Miamisburg’s financial income. But by covering up Isotec’s previous warnings, trustees may have a bigger headache – lawsuits from their residents.
