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Major explosion closes I-64 in Kanawha County
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- News of a major chemical explosion Thursday night in Kanawha County prompted a shelter-in-place order and closed Interstate 64, along with many other roadways in the county.
The explosion happened about 10:40 p.m. at the Bayer CropScience Plant in Institute. Witnesses reported seeing a large fireball. At least one injury was reported. The incident happened in the plant's Larvin unit, according to West Virginia State Police, Metro 911 and the Emergency Operations Center in Kanawha County.
State Police closed I-64 in both directions. U.S. 60 and W.Va. 25 also were closed, according to the county's Emergency Operations Center. The center also set the shelter-in-place for the following communities: South Charleston, Dunbar, Jefferson, Nitro, St. Albans, Cross Lanes and Institute.
Those communities are located central to western Kanawha County, just west of Charleston. The area houses many chemical plants.
Larvin is a type of insecticide. The company just announced a $3.5 million investment in Larvin production, along with plans to operate both of its Larvin production facilities year round. Previously, the company had operated one unit for six months, then shut it down and operated the other unit for the rest of the year.
