Chemical release prompted short evacuations in Avon

AVON — Emergency crews responded to an investigation of a chemical release following a reaction at an industrial facility Thursday on Schneider Court. Avon Fire Chief David Swope said at a news conference Thursday morning that Reworld, a sustainable waste management company at 35850 Schneider Court, called the fire department after a daily process to neutralize a chemical resulted in a release. As the fire department arrived, they noticed an "impressive" plume of gas, Swope said. The chemical was not identified. Lorain County Hazmat also responded to the scene and evacuated multiple local businesses within 1,500 feet of the release. Other businesses in the vicinity decided to evacuate on their own volition, Swope said. By 1 p.m., the concern of any hazards was gone and the evacuation orders were lifted. At that time, Reworld was still mitigating the chemical reaction that occurred and residual odors may still have been present in the area. A post from Avon police said there was "no risk to public health or safety." "We haven't found anything in the air or the atmosphere around this," Swope said. "None of it has been released into the atmosphere, as far as they can tell from their current testing. There does need to be a little bit more testing to determine the cause, and at that point, we evacuated a larger area just because we weren't sure what the chemicals are." There was no fire as a result of the incident, contrary to early reports. Swope said the chemicals were stored in a "chemical tote" inside the facility — a square plastic container. Contact Richard Perrins at rperrins@chroniclet.com.