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Croda's Atlas Point plant near the Delaware Memorial Bridge. (Mark Eichmann/WHYY)
Croda’s ethylene oxide plant has been out-of-commission since Thanksgiving weekend 2018.
Drivers spent hours sitting in their cars that Sunday evening as traffic delays backed up surrounding roads for miles. The bridge was shut down six and a half hours, the longest bridge closure in the history of the twin spans.
Residents living near the facility were forced to shelter in their homes and complained they were not notified in a timely manner of the danger they faced from the release of 2,600 pounds of ethylene oxide, a highly flammable chemical that has been shown to increase the risk of cancer.