Chemical spill contained at MagnaGro building

HazMat responders from Olathe were called to Lawrence on Monday to assist in the cleanup of a chemical spill near a MagnaGro International building, at the south end of Delaware Street.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Division Chief Rob Kort said the company’s employees apparently were transferring the chemical, a plant growth activator called Phypogroxtra, from one tank to another when a leaky valve led to the spill. The chemical was washed into the street, Kort said, where a passerby spotted it and reported it to authorities.

Crews responded about 2 p.m. Monday and damned up the spill, Kort said. Monday afternoon, the roadway was blocked in the vicinity of Delaware Street and East 22nd Terrace while crews contained the chemical and cleaned up. Kort said the chemical did not pose any hazard to humans and did not get into the storm system. He estimated the chemical and water used to wash it away added up to several hundred gallons of diluted product that had to be cleaned up and contained. The work was expected to be completed Monday night, he said.

Representatives for MagnaGro, a fertilizer blending company, could not be reached Monday afternoon.