Two Kansas companies were indicted Wednesday on federal charges accusing them of safety violations that caused a greenish-yellow toxic chlorine gas cloud to form over the city of Atchinson in October 2016. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release that Midwest Grain Products, Inc., of Atchison, and Harcros Chemicals, Inc., of Kansas City, Kansas, are charged with Clean Air Act violations that put the public in danger.
The indictment alleges more than 140 people sought medical attention on Oct. 21, 2016, after 4,000 gallons of sulfuric acid combined with 5,800 gallons of sodium hypochlorite to form a toxic cloud that covered the city for 45 minutes until emergency personnel arrived to turn off the flow.