Acid Leak in West Virginia Prompts Evacuation; Worker Injured

The Huntington, W.Va. fire chief says a chemical leak that injured one worker and prompted the evacuation of a city block has been contained.

Fire Chief Greg Fuller told The Herald-Dispatch that a forklift driver punctured a 5-gallon container holding an unidentified acidic material at a former bottling plant on Artisan Avenue.

Tony Clark with Cabell County 911 says the worker suffered burns. Clark says the man drove himself to Cabell Huntington Hospital.

Hospital spokesman Charles Shumaker said the worker was under evaluation. As a precaution, the hospital temporarily closed an emergency room entrance used by emergency vehicles. A public entrance was unaffected.

Clark says residents of the 2000 block of Artisan Avenue were evacuated.