Mississippi chemical plant explosion sends toxic smoke plume into sky

Emergency personnel responded Wednesday to an explosion at a chemical plant in Mississippi that sent a large plume of black smoke aloft.Crews were alerted just after 7 a.m. CST to the incident at the Loveland Products plant in Greenville, city officials confirmed in a release. Located in the Mississippi Delta region, the city has a population of approximately 26,000 and is about 120 miles northwest of Jackson, the state capital.No injuries were immediately reported, said Sara Moreland Hester, a deputy emergency management director for Washington County and a local firefighter. Mississippi chemical plant explosion (Sara Moreland Hester)She stated at midday that the fire had been put out and firefighters were wrapping up at the scene.Preliminary information from plant management indicated the explosion involved a fire associated with a herbicide chemical, according to the city's release. Nutrien, Loveland's parent company, said plant leadership worked alongside first responders. Loveland, based in Loveland, Colorado, manufactures fertilizer, plant nutrition, and crop protection products.(Sara Moreland Hester via AP)Residents near the facility were asked to shelter in place for a couple of hours because of potentially hazardous smoke, though the order was canceled just before noon in the mostly rural area on the city's eastern edge. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said its emergency response team and an air monitoring contractor were working to assess any air quality impacts.