HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — A chemical leak was discovered at the AdvanSix manufacturing plant in Hopewell Friday morning.
The leak was first announced by the Hopewell Fire Department on Facebook just after 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 15. There were said to be no hazards to the public as crews worked to contain the leak.
Just over an hour later, Hopewell Fire announced the leak had been “successfully contained” and said, “there are no remaining safety hazards.” Normal operations were said to be able to resume.
This is the third reported chemical leak at the Hopewell industrial manufacturing plant in the past two years, with a leak earlier this year on June 28 and a leak on March 29, 2022.
There was also a chemical leak at the Chesterfield AdvanSix location on Oct. 8, 2022.
Years earlier, in 2018, 8News reported the Environmental Protection Agency was leading a criminal environmental investigation at the plant that appeared to be related to the facility’s air emissions.
According to AdvanSix’s website, the Hopewell manufacturing site is one of the world’s largest single-site producers of caprolactam, which is the primary feedstock in the production of nylon polymer used in carpet fibers, plastics and films.
“Hopewell also is the world’s largest single-site producer of ammonium sulfate fertilizer, which provides the key nutrients of sulfur and nitrogen for major agricultural crops globally such as corn, wheat, coffee, sugar, cotton and rice,” the company website reads.
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