Favorable reports came from Vicksburg authorities late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning about the containment of a hazardous chemical spill that occurred Sunday night in the parking lot of Bally’s Casino on Warrenton Road a few miles south of downtown Vicksburg.
A mystery remains of how the detached tanker of chlorobenzene, an inflammable solvent, wound up spilling its contents on the parking lot of Bally’s Casino Sunday night. The tanker was detached from its tractor and the trucking officials were preparing to rush in a second tanker Monday morning to retrieve what was left of the chemicals in the first truck.
Vicksburg Deputy Police Chief Troy Kimble, who took charge of the site late Sunday, said the spill took place Sunday night in a parking lot adjacent to the casino after the driver of the 18-wheeler carrying the chlorobenzene detached his tractor and left the area. When the driver returned, the tanker was lying on its side and was leaking the chemicals, which never spread beyond the parking lot, according to the police report.
Chlorobenzene is used as a degreaser and is highly flammable.
“It was a minimum spill,” Kimble said. “Everything was cleaned up. Hazmat got in and took care of everything. It was done to the letter.”
MAYOR’S REPORT
Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs, who has been at a conference in Tampa, Florida, during the entire ordeal, said Tuesday that the latest reports he has received are all positive.
“I think it’s going well,” said Flaggs. “They’ve gotten it under control, and they’ve been reporting to me. It happened Sunday night, and they’ve turned the truck upright. So, I think it’s okay now.”
Kimble’s report Sunday night reassured the mayor that the spill had been contained and posed no immediate threat. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) was notified and had a representative onsite.
The casino was not closed, although customers already in the casino were asked to remain inside.
Monday night, casino security shift supervisor Clifton Anderson said the casino had not felt the need to suspend its operations because of the overturned truck tank in the parking lot.
“Yes, we’re open 24-7,” Anderson said. “We did not close. We’re open.”
Although the south and central entrances to Bally’s were closed off, casino arrivals were able to gain access to Bally’s through the entrance at Riverview Casino a short distance north of Bally’s.
Early Monday, the city announced it would call a Code Red alert. Kimble said Tuesday morning, however, that was no longer necessary.
“The issue has been completed,” he said. “The tanker has been removed and everything is back to normal. Everything was taken care of no later than 15:30 yesterday, a little bit before 4 p.m.”
SUPERVISOR’S CONCERN
Warren County District 3 Supervisor Na’Shawndra Jackson-Davis, whose district once included the Bally’s Casino properties, said she was alerted to the developing crisis through the local Vicksburg news wire service and Facebook. Jackson-Davis regularly shares local news with communities throughout the Vicksburg-Jackson corridor.
“This morning the city sent out a Code Red alert.” She said via telephone late Monday evening. “And I received text messages about what was developing. So, I felt compelled for what used to be a part of my district; I just wanted to get it out there. Any alert like that I put it on Facebook because it came from an official source.
“We discussed it at today’s (Monday’s) board meeting. There’ s a lot of common stuff between city and county officials. That’s my concern. It happened in the city, but we wanted briefs on it. What I do is call the director of emergency management for the county and he usually knows. I didn’t talk to him today, so I don’t know how the city is handling it.”
During the 16-hours of worry, no one was reported as injured by the chemicals in any way. And except for the two hours of transfer of the remaining chemicals to a new tanker from 10 a.m. until noon Monday, no one was restricted in their ability to go and come within the prescribed limitations.
