A toxic gas leak from a chemical plant located near the base of the Delaware Memorial Bridge Sunday blocked all traffic lanes over busy holiday weekends for more than six hours.

A dangerous goods crew was called to Croda Inc. at New Castle at 16:16. for leakage of ethylene oxide, an extremely flammable gas, from a tank to the site, according to Holloway Terrace Fire Chief Mark Willis.

At 11:20, the leak was contained and the deck reopened.

Ethylene oxide is used to make other chemicals, to sterilize medical devices and as a fumigant, according to the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health.

The gas was transferred from the leaking tank to a secure tank. More than 70 percent of the gas escaped from the chemical tank, said fire department spokesman George Greenley.

From 11:20, the ethylene oxide is fully contained, announced the chemical plant.

Residents of New Castle neighborhoods north of Moores Lane were urged to stay home, said New Castle Town Police Chief Richard McCabe. Dispatchers used an inverted 911 call to alert residents.

No injuries were reported.

All north and south lanes of the Delaware Memorial Bridge were closed around 5 pm As a precaution, crews responded to the leak, said Delaware River and Bay Authority spokesman Jim Salmon.

Interstate 295 closed at I-95 and traffic was diverted to Commodore Barry, Walt Whitman or Ben Franklin bridges. The congestion of the bridge has had a ripple effect along the I-95 and other main roads, causing significant delays for the end of the holiday weekend.

"We deeply regret the significant inconvenience this may have for the community and those traveling in the region," said a press release.

Dan Heneghan said his diabetic son and daughter-in-law were stranded on the bridge side in New Jersey, trying to return home to northern Virginia. They had just spent the holidays with Heneghan in Ventnor City.

British company Croda Inc. is an international manufacturer of specialty chemicals.

Atlas Point, the Croda site in Delaware, manufactures formulas ranging from pharmaceutical use to industrial chemistry. Croda bought the site in Uniqema in 2006.

The process of converting ethanol to ethylene oxide is new. Croda began doing it less than six months at his Atlas Point location, according to Greenley.

A manufacturing plant has been located at Atlas Point for more than 75 years.

Contact Josephine Peterson at (302) 324-2856 or [email protected]

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