COLUMBIA, S.C. – One woman has died after South Carolina authorities say nearly 2,000 gallons of ammonia leaked out of a tanker truck.
Department of Health and Environmental Control Thom Berry says a truck was unloading ammonia at a Tanner Industries distribution facility in Lexington County around 8 a.m. Wednesday when a hose ruptured.
Berry says the ammonia quickly evaporated, creating a cloud that drifted across nearby U.S. Highway 321.
He says a woman traveling down that road drove into the cloud, tried to get out of her vehicle and was overcome by the fumes. Her name has not been released.
Berry says officials do not believe people living in the vicinity of the leak are in danger.
Tanner spokesman David Binder said the Pennsylvania-based company would send a team to South Carolina to investigate.
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