Open house held to address chemical leak

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - People in Belle are looking for answers about how a recent ammonia leak was handled.

“The incident is still under investigation, but at that time there was a shelter in place that was called,” Alicha Hunt, the Arclin Plant Manager said

Kanawha County officials and leaders at the Arclin plant held an open house on Monday in Belle, where some community members say they didn’t receive an alert about the shelter in place.

“We saw it on social media,” Brandon Moore said. “Someone said ‘oh, there’s a shelter in place, we should leave because we’re right next to the plant.’ ”

Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said there was some confusion about the shelter in place and locations impacted by the leak.

“That being said, the chemical industry knows more ab