The Alcoa Fire Department continues to clear up misinformation surrounding a chemical spill at the US Foods facility after many residents say they did not receive an emergency alert from authorities.
Several residents say they didn’t get a notification and it concerns them and hope the issue is corrected.
AFD says alerts were sent Friday night to those in the Alcoa community by the Hyper-Reach system not the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) system.
Alcoa’s Hyper-Reach system does not use geo-tagging technology to send alerts, like IPAWS does. Instead, it uses public information like utility accounts to identify who gets an alert.
Alcoa city officials ordered a shelter in place following the leak Friday night.
The City of Alcoa Fire Department along with a hazmat trailer were taking readings with meters in the area and they never got readings outside of the plant facilities. They say the road closure was a precaution and at no time was the public in danger.
A drone video showed a valve malfunction and after the valves were shut off, the shelter in place order was lifted.
When the liquid is released, it turns to vapor so no cleanup that has to be done, unlike an oil spill or gas fuel leak.
No injuries were reported.
