Chemical tank leak in Ohio forces evacuations as city allows plume to
vent
[October 22, 2026]
By JOHN SEEWER and KATHY McCORMACK
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A ruptured chemical tank billowed a white plume into
the air for hours Wednesday, forcing hundreds of residents out of their
homes due to the potentially toxic leak and the possibility of an
explosion.
More than 50,000 people in Toledo, Ohio, were advised to stay indoors
for much of the day until the city lifted a shelter-in-place order in
the evening.
City leaders were allowing the chemical to vent instead of trying to
stop the leak, saying that would be more dangerous. Videos show a plume
still swirling from the tank early Wednesday afternoon, more than 14
hours after the tank began leaking Tuesday night in an industrial area.
Some residents felt irritation in their eyes and throats and sought
treatment, and city officials said one sheriff's deputy who responded to
the blast later drove himself to a hospital because he felt unwell.
Mark White Jr., who lives within the affected area, was sleeping with
his windows open and woke to what he described as a burning plastic
smell. He decided to evacuate to a shelter at an elementary school
because he has asthma.
“I don’t know what this chemical can do to my lungs, long term or
anything,” White said.
MC Tank Transport said the tank contained glycidyl methacrylate, which
it described as “an industrial chemical used to make certain plastics,
paints and coatings perform better.”
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said without elaborating that
the leak happened because of an error while the material was being
transferred.
Mayor says the chemical leak has slowed
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said Wednesday afternoon there was no
reason to panic and that the city was working with state and federal
environmental officials.
He said they decided to allow the tank to continue releasing the
chemical because there was little threat to the public and that it would
be more dangerous to ask first responders to go near the chemical
trucking company's facility where more tanks were stored.
“There's no question the situation is improving,” said Kapszukiewicz,
who added that drones monitoring the leaking tank show its temperature
is dropping and that the plume is diminishing.
Still, it could take hours before the tank is safe to approach, he said.
Nearly 1,000 residents were told to evacuate overnight within a 1-mile
(1.6-kilometer) radius of the leak. A shelter-in-place order for more
than 50,000 people covering a 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) radius included
neighborhoods along the Lake Erie shoreline and stretched just across
the state line into Michigan. By Wednesday evening, the shelter-in-place
had been lifted and the evacuation order was cut down to half a mile
(0.8 kilometers).
Schools across the city were closed Wednesday, and automaker Stellantis
shut down production at its nearby Jeep assembly plant.
Residents worry about chemical's risks
Health officials said the symptoms reported so far were primarily eye
and throat irritation. Testing was ongoing to determine the chemical’s
concentration in the air and whether it posed additional health risks.
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A plume of smokes rises from MC Tank Transport Inc., where a
chemical tank exploded overnight, prompting hundreds of residents to
evacuate or shelter in place amid concerns about a potential toxic
release, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in north Toledo, Ohio. (Jeremy
Wadsworth/The Blade via AP)
ProMedica, which operates hospitals and urgent care centers in the
Toledo area, said it evaluated about 30 people who reported symptoms
that might have been related to the leak. Most were treated and
released, the health care provider said.
Residents well beyond the shelter-in-place zone described smelling
paint or burning chemicals. City officials tried to assure them that
the odors did not indicate there was anything harmful in the air.
Kristine Kowalinski, who lives just outside the affected area, said
she was staying inside because she’s sensitive even to smoke from
wood burning. She said she’s worried about what’s in the air and on
the ground.
“My main concern is how did that affect everything overnight when it
was raining down on cars, houses, my garden,” she said.
Kapszukiewicz said the chemical is liquid inside the tank but
becomes a gas when released. Officials began worrying early on that
the tank, which can hold 5,500 gallons of the chemical, could
explode, he said.
Chemical can irritate eyes and cause headaches
People who come into contact with glycidyl methacrylate may feel as
if their eyes, nose, mouth and skin are burning, the city fire
department said. Overexposure can cause headaches, dizziness,
tiredness, nausea and vomiting.
“It’s really toxic if you touch it, if you ingest it,” said Karim
Baroudi, director of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. “Now
we’re trying to kind of determine how much of a toxicity is in the
air that the people are breathing so we can give better guidance.”
Baroudi advised residents to close their windows and that those who
“feel irritation in the eyes, heavily breathing, just take a shower
for now.” The fire department said those who experience symptoms
should contact a medical professional.
Emergency and hazardous material crews were not approaching the tank
because of the risk of an explosion, Kapszukiewicz said.
Arkansas-based MC Tank Transport said in a statement the company is
working with the fire department and other emergency authorities.
Company representatives were on their way to Toledo, Kapszukiewicz
said.
“Our immediate and overriding concern is the safety of area
residents, emergency responders and our employees,” the company
said.
___
McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press
journalists Beatrice Dupuy in New York and Dave Collins in Hartford,
Connecticut, contributed.
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