Dozens of people were hospitalized in Weatherford, Okla., after an ammonia leak on Wednesday night made the air unsafe to breathe in some parts of the city, the authorities said.
The leak came from a tanker truck parked behind a Holiday Inn, Angelo Orefice, the Weatherford Police Department chief, said at a news conference on Thursday. The cause of the leak was unclear, he said, and officials were treating it as an accident.
More than 12,000 people live in Weatherford, which is about 70 miles west of Oklahoma City.
Mr. Orefice said that at least 30 people had been hospitalized because of the leak, including four who had life-threatening injuries and were flown to hospitals in Oklahoma City.
Exposure to high levels of ammonia can cause coughing and burns and affect the skin, eyes, throats and lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to very high levels can cause lung damage and death. Symptoms of exposure include nausea, vomiting, coughing up white- or pink-colored fluid, skin blisters and temporary blindness.
After the leak was detected at around 10 p.m., some residents were told to remain in their homes. That order was lifted on Thursday morning. Weatherford’s emergency manager, Mike Karlin, told KFOR, a local news station, that 500 to 600 people had evacuated their homes.
Businesses in the affected area were required to have their air quality checked by the fire department before opening to customers, Mr. Orefice said. Several nursing homes were also evacuated, he said.
Mr. Orefice said cleanup would take several days. “We’ve pretty much got a lot of this stuff diluted right now,” he said, adding that the authorities were working with the Environmental Protection Agency to determine how to completely dispose of the leaked chemical.
All public schools in Weatherford were closed on Thursday because of the spill, as was Southwestern Oklahoma State University, which has a campus in the town.
In a statement, the university said students living in on-campus housing should remain indoors and keep windows and doors closed because of the fumes. That order was lifted hours later, and the university said that it would resume normal operations on Friday.
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics.
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