The Kodiak Fire Department responded to a reported ammonia leak near one of the local fish processors on Shelikof Street on Friday morning, August 9.
According to an emailed statement from the agency, the ammonia smell was strongest near 517 Shelikof Street, where the Silver Bay Seafoods factory is located. This was formerly the International Seafoods of Alaska building.
A Silver Bay employee told firefighters that the company had been performing maintenance on one of its liquid storage tanks the night before, Aug. 8. After 10:30 a.m. Friday, firefighters discovered a small leak that was dripping anhydrous ammonia from the 6,000-gallon tank.
Crews slowed the leak to the point where dripping stopped and only occasional ammonia vapor was seen. It is estimated that less than a gallon of product was lost from the tank when the leak was fully repaired. No injuries or hospitalizations were reported in this incident.
Deputy Fire Chief Steel McNeil is warning residents to be wary of the smell and risks of the potentially harmful gas. He said unless someone is exposed to the vapor cloud for an extended period of time, ammonia does not usually cause much harm in the short term.
“The smell is quite pungent, similar to mercaptan in propane. You don’t want to stay around it for too long because it stinks. But it also attacks the mucous membranes in the eyes and respiratory tract, and that’s where it’s most irritating,” McNeil explained.
McNeil said most of the local ammonia sources around the city are tied to the seafood processing industry because these chemicals are used as coolants or the products are shipped to Kodiak.
If you smell ammonia, get fresh air or a higher location and report the incident to emergency services by calling 911.
