A handful of homes in Collins were evacuated Tuesday morning after an anhydrous ammonia leak was discovered at Landus Cooperative in the town of about 480 people.
Firefighters from three area communities and deputies from the Story County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an anhydrous ammonia leak at the cooperative just before 11 a.m. The leak was contained by 1:38 p.m., and the evacuation order was lifted.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The area of town affected was the southeast part of the community, which is located in the far southeast corner of Story County. As the wind was blowing to the southeast, the anhydrous vapors were blown out of town, said Capt. Nick Lennie with the sheriff’s office.
Story County Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Morgan said the leak occurred as employees were performing maintenance on the anhydrous tank, creating a vapor plume in the area.
He said weather conditions helped keep the problem from worsening.