(4-6-24) Warren Volunteer Fire Department and Parkview Huntington Hospital EMS responded to Nutrien Ag Solutions, just outside of Warren, Indiana, after reports of an anhydrous ammonia trailer leak. In the initial report, one employee of the company was not accounted for.

When emergency response teams arrived on scene they found a large plume of anhydrous ammonia behind a building.

Anhydrous ammonia is widely used as a source of nitrogen fertilizer but can be dangerous if not stored as a pressurized liquid. If it is exposed to air it can often take over as a toxic gas and become fatal. Liquid anhydrous ammonia expands 850 times when released to ambient air and can form large vapor clouds.

A search of the area found a man, Richard Clark (72) of Ossian, Indiana. He was moved out of the area but was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation into the cause of the leak is underway by the Indiana Department of OSHA, but it is believed to have come from a double anhydrous ammonia “pony” trailer. An autopsy report is scheduled for Sunday to determine the official cause and manner of death. It is unclear if those results will be public.

Nutrien Ag Solutions is an agricultural service and solutions provider.