An entire eastern Iowa town had to be evacuated Sunday after a chemical leak was discovered. The 770 residents of Olin were evacuated about 9:30 Sunday following an anhydrous ammonia leak at a co-op on the south side of town. According to the Jones County Sheriff, about 850 gallons of anhydrous leaked from a 1,500 gallon tank at the River Valley Coop.
No one was at the plant at the time and now one was injured. A chemical cloud from the leak moved over the town and winds were calm, preventing the anhydrous from being dissipated. As a precaution, all residents of Olin were evacuated. About 150 people went to an emergency shelter set up at the community building in the nearby town of Morley. Residents were allowed back into their homes around 2:30 this morning.
Highway 38 leading into the city has been re-opened. The cause of the leak is still not known.
Contributed by Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein