At around 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night a resident near Hwy 24 and Crown Road just east of Norfolk reported the odor of suspected Anhydrous emitting in the air around immediate area. At about 7:15 Deputies with the Stanton County Sheriff’s office located a tractor with an large anhydrous tank attached to a sprayer leaking heavily from the attached sprayer at a residence in the 3300 block of Hwy 24. There was no sign of the known resident/farmer in the area and the door of a nearby pickup was standing wide open. The area smelled strongly of the leaking product that can be extremely dangerous and even lethal. Norfolk Fire and Rescue and their hazmat team were requested to respond by the Sheriff. Initial efforts to contact the resident by phone and other methods were met with silence and a drone was also deployed. The farmer/operator was then located inside his house and safely removed from the area. A Norfolk Fire hazmat team secured the tank and the flow was shut off to the sprayer rendering it safe. The highway was closed until around 8:15 p.m. as the chemical dissipated in the fresh air and an all clear was given. Several area residences were checked and occupants advised to stay inside. Hadar Fire also responded with a hazmat team and Stanton Fire and Stanton County Emergency Management assisted the Sheriff’s office with traffic control.
