Firefighters respond to tank rupture at facility in North Charleston

A 250,000 gallon tank of liquid rosin ruptured Monday at MWV Specialty Chemicals.

The rupture occurred about 10 a.m. at the top of a storage tank containing crude tall oil, a by-product of pine trees, according to company spokeswoman Stephanie Mangin.

Firefighters from the facility, North Charleston, Charleston and St. Andrews fire departments were on the scene but did not encounter any flames, and left the scene about 1:30 p.m., North Charleston Fire Department spokeswoman Bianca Sancic said.

North Charleston police kept watch over the plant’s entrance, keeping anyone from entering the grounds during the initial investigation.

Trucks were backed up on Virginia Avenue waiting to get into the plant, including Floyd Trowler who was at the site to dump pine chips for Bishop Forestry.

Trowler said a friend and fellow trucker saw a flame shoot 50 feet in the air, during the initial rupture.

A representative from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control was on scene to help limit the risk of fire as crews cleaned.

None of the material was released, but one person was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure, Mangin said.

The cause of the breach is under investigation. The incident posed no risk to the outside community, Mangin said.