Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 10, 1990 TAG: 9004100686
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: APPALACHIA LENGTH: Short
About a gallon of the insecticide Malathion Five was spilled in the Dominion Bank building shortly before 9 a.m. Monday and got into the air conditioning system, said Fire Chief Robert Anderson Sr.
The container apparently slipped off a shelf in a storage room and burst when it hit the floor, he said.
Hazardous materials teams from the state and Wise County were working to clean up the pesticide.
In addition to the bank building, people were evacuated from an adjacent supermarket, as well as from the nearby town hall, police department, a small shopping mall and veterans' claim center.
Every building within 500 feet of the bank in the Wise County town of 2,400 was evacuated, Anderson said.
No one complained of sickness, he said.
The chemical is "fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin," Anderson said, referring to literature on poisonous substances.
The spill was discovered soon after bank employees noticed an unusual odor in the building, he said.
by CNB