The Chickahominy Report

Plac­ards like this are used to mark con­tain­ers con­tain­ing poten­tially explo­sive materials.

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — The port of More­head City, N.C., has been closed this morn­ing because of a leak of the explo­sive PETN. More­head City Mayor Jerry Jones told CNN about noon today that the leak has been contained.

Chief Petty Offi­cer Mike Hvozda (USCG) said the PETN was released from nine heavy cardboard-sided con­tain­ers — each with a capac­ity of about two cubic feet — that were punc­tured by a fork­lift while unload­ing a ship at the port early this morning.

As a result of the leak, offi­cials ordered a vol­un­tary evac­u­a­tion of down­town More­head City. They rec­om­mended that cit­i­zens who chose not to leave stay inside and away from win­dows. In addi­tion, the U.S. Coast Guard estab­lished a two-nautical-mile safety zone around the port until the spill is cleaned up.

PETN, Pen­taery­thri­tol tetran­i­trate, is the explo­sive that recently gained noto­ri­ety in the Christ­mas Day air­line bomb plot. Like another noto­ri­ous explo­sive, nitro­glyc­erin, PETN is also used as a vasodila­tor — a drug used to increase blood flow, often to the heart to relieve symp­toms of angina.

For­tu­nately, PETN is not volatile. Accord­ing to the 2008 edi­tion of the Emer­gency Response Guide­book, it is typ­i­cally trans­ported as a crys­talline solid con­tain­ing between 10 and 20 per­cent PETN.

The sub­stance itself is rel­a­tively non­toxic, although it may cause nau­sea and headaches if swal­lowed. The pri­mary risk — cer­tainly in this case — is its explo­sive potential.

In the case of a spill, the Emer­gency Response Guide­book rec­om­mends iso­la­tion and an ini­tial evac­u­a­tion of an area of at least 100 meters (330 feet) radius. If a large spill, which may have been the case in More­head City, it rec­om­mends an ini­tial evac­u­a­tion of an area of at least 500 meters (one-third mile) in all direc­tions. In the case of fire, the rec­om­men­da­tion is an ini­tial evac­u­a­tion. of an area at least 800 meters (one-half mile) in all directions.

Carteret County Emer­gency Ser­vices Direc­tor Jo Ann Smith said the area evac­u­ated extends along the U.S. High­way 70 cor­ri­dor from 4th Street to the Beau­fort Draw­bridge. In addi­tion to the port, the area evac­u­ated includes the Dock­side Marina & Ships Store, the More­head City Yacht Basin, and por­tions of Radio Island. Smith said it did not include nearby Fort Macon State Park.

— David M. Lawrence

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated through­out the day.