Cale Reinstetle
eSomethin staff
Your car pulls into the driveway. The cool chill of the night air hits your skin and fills your lungs as you take a deep breath in. You stretch for a moment, lifting your arm as you take a glance at your watch: 9:29 P.M. You got home later than what you would have preferred but that’s soon the least of your worries. A loud boom cracks through the quiet air. You felt it in your chest, your legs, your head, the world was spinning and soon a thick fog surrounded you– it burns your lungs, your eyes, and soon you feel like choking.
While this may seem like an incredible opening to some thriller-action story, this is the reality citizens of the glass city of Toledo are currently facing.
At 9:30 P.M. local time, an MC Tank Terminal, located at 1266 Progress Avenue, exploded and quickly spread a Category-1 irritant within a 3.5 mile radius of the initial explosion point.
The irritant located in the tank, and now filling Toledo’s streets, was a stabilized form of the chemical “Glycidyl Methacrylate” (gleye-sid-il meth-ak-ri-layt). Soon thereafter at 10:48 P.M. local time, Toledo Fire & Rescue ordered everyone within a 1-mile radius of 1266 Progress Avenue to evacuate, then at 4:34 A.M., Wednesday, for anyone within a 3-mile radius to shelter in place.
As of yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, the shelter in place order was lifted by Toledo Fire & Rescue at 5:00 P.M., but the 1-mile evacuation order remains. Concerns of another explosion being possible have also been raised to the city of Toledo but nothing remains confirmed.
Still, many questions about this accident float in the air and concern from neighbouring cities like Perrysburg bite at the minds of their residents.
So is Perrysburg in any danger or threat of this chemical spill?
Reports have indicated that the fog release of the chemical is limited to the posted areas within Toledo shown on maps.
Some common questions that have been thrown into the fray are things like how will the water be affected, whilst it is true that the outreach of the chemicals radius at one point dip into the Maumee, Perrysburg and her neighbouring cities have dedicated and different water filtration and treatment plants that do not draw from the Maumee. Experts on scene have reported that if a light fog is around someone, and you smell a sort of chemical smell then you may be located in range. All in all Perrysburg is safe from the chemical spill, and there is no real major active threat anymore to the citizens of Toledo thankfully.
Former Perrysburg student, a 2025 graduate, Emma Lange, who now attends the University of Toledo as an undergraduate Pharmacy student, gave a clearer insight of the situation.
“Walking around campus smelt like straight plastic” and that it made “…Breathing slightly difficult (and) I ended up getting a headache and feeling nausea by the time I was walking to my second class,” Lange said.
Despite the chemical spills initial emergency affect being contained a few miles away from the University of Toledo, Lange said she was still concerned.
“For sure, it was a couple miles northeast of us but I was still worried the fumes would travel towards us and make people on campus sick.”
All in all the situation in Toledo, while dire, is not hopeless and the people within Toledo are under active care to alleviate the situation. For people in nearby areas such as Maumee or Perrysburg, there is no active threat to the municipalities.
Other stories on eSomethin:
- Building up the BAND-width: Two schools, one massive sound
- Breaking News: Residents of Toledo under duress and Perrysburg citizens under stress after a major chemical spill occurs
- Jacket Time is a controversial addition to the schedule at PHS
- Homecoming hits with students – many want to go again
- Perrysburg High School students and principal comment on Decision Day
