CDC to interview residents near site of Beach Park chemical spill
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff members will begin conducting door-to-door interviews Saturday about the anhydrous ammonia spill that hospitalized 37 people last month in Beach Park.
A news release issued Thursday by the Lake County Health Department said CDC employees plan to interview people who live within a mile of where the spill occurred.
About 4:30 a.m. April 25, two large containers of anhydrous ammonia leaked while being hauled by a John Deere tractor on Green Bay Road near 29th Street. Injured were 23 civilians, 11 firefighters and three police officers.
Farmers use anhydrous ammonia to fertilize soil. It quickly turns from liquid to gas when not under pressure. Exposure can cause breathing difficulties, burns and blisters, and the chemical can be fatal if inhaled.