Institute, WV Nitric Acid Leak at Ames Goldsmith Catalyst Refiners: Legal Options for Affected Residents

On the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2026, a nitric acid leak at the Ames Goldsmith Catalyst Refiners plant on the border of Institute and Nitro triggered a one-mile shelter-in-place, shut down a stretch of 1st Avenue South, and sent at least seven people to Kanawha County hospitals for medical evaluation. The leak began around 9:30 a.m. at the facility located at 1580 1st Avenue South, with emergency responders, state agencies, and hazmat crews converging on the scene within minutes.

If you live, work, or attend school anywhere from West Virginia State University to the Nitro/St. Albans Bridge — including portions of Institute, Nitro, St. Albans, and South Charleston — you may have legal options, whether you have already noticed symptoms or not. Nitric acid exposure can produce delayed respiratory injuries that sometimes take hours or even days to appear. Powell & Majestro P.L.L.C. is already reviewing cases tied to this incident. Call (304) 346-2889 for a free consultation. 

What Happened at the Catalyst Refiners Plant

Kanawha County Emergency Manager C.W. Sigman confirmed that an acid-based material was released inside the plant at approximately 9:30 a.m. on April 22, 2026. County officials later identified the chemical as nitric acid, used at the facility for cleaning and chemical processing in its silver and ethylene oxide catalyst refining operations. Most of the spilled material was reportedly contained inside a building at the plant, and the shelter-in-place was issued as a precaution.

Kanawha County’s Emergency Operations Center was activated. The Institute Fire Department, the Nitro Fire Department, and hazmat crews responded. A one-mile shelter-in-place radius was put in place, reaching from the West Virginia State University campus in Institute to the Nitro/St. Albans Bridge across the Kanawha River and covering sections of both Route 25 and U.S. Route 60. MacCorkle Avenue was closed from Roxbury Street in South Charleston to Walnut Street in St. Albans during the response, and 1st Avenue South was shut from New Goff Mountain Road to Kilowatt Road.

At least seven people were transported off-site for medical evaluation. WVU Thomas Hospitals activated its decontamination protocol, temporarily repurposing its ER lobby as a decontamination area and directing patient family members to the Thomas Wing entrance off Division Street. Eight Kanawha County schools implemented a precautionary shelter-in-place; none of the schools were directly affected, and the order was lifted within hours. The shelter-in-place for St. Albans and South Charleston was lifted by 10:30 a.m., while the order for the Institute area closer to the plant remained in effect longer into the afternoon.

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey confirmed that the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Management Division, the Department of Health, and the Department of Environmental Protection were coordinating with Kanawha County Emergency Management. DEP personnel were providing decontamination and disposal assistance on site. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito also issued a statement confirming that her office was in contact with state and local officials as the response continued. 

Why Nitric Acid Exposure Is a Serious Health Concern

Nitric acid (HNO₃) is a highly corrosive chemical that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) identifies as an immediate danger to life and health at concentrations of 25 parts per million or higher. When it comes into contact with air or organic materials, it can decompose into nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and other nitrogen oxides — compounds that are often more dangerous than the acid itself because they are less soluble in water and can bypass the upper airway without triggering early warning irritation.

Because of that, a person who feels only mild symptoms at the scene can still develop serious lung injury hours later. Medical literature on nitric acid inhalation describes a biphasic clinical course: an initial episode of bronchospasm and laryngospasm, a brief recovery period, and then the development of pulmonary edema 8 to 24 hours after exposure. In severe cases, survivors have gone on to develop pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, or bronchiolitis obliterans — a form of scarring in the small airways that can cause lasting breathing impairment.

Reported symptoms and medical findings associated with acute nitric acid or nitrogen oxide exposure include:

• Respiratory irritation: coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, chemical laryngitis, wheezing
• Eye and mucous membrane injury: burning, redness, tearing, and, with liquid contact, corneal damage
• Skin injury: chemical burns, yellow staining of the skin (a classic xanthoproteic reaction), and blistering
• Delayed pulmonary edema: fluid build-up in the lungs that can appear hours after exposure and may require hospitalization
• Pneumonitis and bronchitis: inflammation of the lung tissue and airways
• Long-term sequelae: pulmonary fibrosis, bronchiolitis obliterans, and, in severe, untreated cases, bronchopneumonia
• Nonspecific symptoms: nausea, dizziness, headache, and rapid pulse

People with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or other underlying respiratory conditions are typically more sensitive to acidic aerosols and may experience stronger reactions at lower exposure levels. Children, older adults, and pregnant individuals warrant particularly close monitoring. Anyone who was inside the one-mile shelter-in-place zone and who has a new or worsening cough, chest discomfort, difficulty breathing, or eye irritation should seek medical evaluation promptly and keep detailed records of every visit, test, and prescription.

Who May Have a Legal Claim?

West Virginia law recognizes several theories of liability for industrial chemical releases, including negligence, strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, private nuisance, trespass, and product liability against upstream manufacturers of defective equipment. Depending on the facts that emerge from the investigation, responsible parties may include the plant operator, its parent company (Ames Goldsmith Corp.), equipment manufacturers, maintenance contractors, and any third parties involved in handling or transporting the nitric acid.

Residents and workers who may be eligible to pursue a claim include people who:

• Were inside the one-mile shelter-in-place zone — roughly from West Virginia State University to the Nitro/St. Albans Bridge — on the morning of April 22, 2026
• Experienced respiratory, eye, or skin symptoms during or after the event, whether immediately or in the days that followed
• Were evacuated, prevented from going to work, or lost business revenue because of road closures on 1st Avenue South, MacCorkle Avenue, or surrounding corridors
• Incurred medical costs for emergency care, decontamination, follow-up pulmonary testing, or prescription medication
• Suffered property damage — for example, chemical residue on vehicles, HVAC systems, or outdoor equipment
• Were on-site workers injured at the plant (workers’ compensation benefits may apply alongside third-party liability claims)

West Virginia Statute of Limitations for Chemical Exposure Claims

Under West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(b), personal injury claims must generally be filed within two years of the date the injury accrued. Property damage claims under § 55-2-12(a) also carry a two-year deadline. Wrongful death claims under § 55-7-6 similarly have a two-year limit, measured from the date of death.

For toxic tort cases like chemical exposure, West Virginia courts also apply the discovery rule (see Perrine v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 225 W.Va. 482 (2010)), meaning the two-year clock may not begin to run until a person knew — or, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known — about the nature of the injury and its connection to the exposure. Because delayed-onset pulmonary injuries from nitric acid can surface weeks after the event, the discovery rule can matter a great deal in these cases. Even so, waiting is rarely a good strategy: evidence disappears, memories fade, and medical records become harder to trace. The sooner a claim is investigated, the stronger it tends to be.

What to Do Right Now to Protect Your Rights

• Seek medical care, even if you feel fine. Go to WVU Thomas Hospitals, CAMC Memorial, or your primary care provider. Ask specifically for pulmonary function testing and a documented note about possible nitric acid exposure.
• Keep every receipt and record. Save bills, prescriptions, ER discharge paperwork, wage records, and notes about missed work. These documents become the backbone of a damages claim.
• Photograph and catalog property issues. Take date-stamped photos of residue on your home, car, or outdoor furniture. If you had a business closure, save the point-of-sale reports and inventory logs.
• Write down what you saw and smelled. Note where you were at 9:30 a.m. on April 22, what you observed (odor, mist, discoloration), when you received the shelter-in-place alert, and how long you stayed indoors.
• Do not sign anything from the company or its insurer. Early settlement offers are almost always well below what a full evaluation supports. A quick release of claims can permanently waive future medical treatment costs.
• Talk to an attorney before giving a recorded statement. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions that can narrow or minimize your claim.

Why the Kanawha Valley’s History Matters to This Case

The stretch of the Kanawha River from South Charleston through Institute and Nitro is known as “Chemical Valley” — a nickname earned over a century of heavy industry. The institute itself sits on land that once hosted the only U.S. facility manufacturing methyl isocyanate (MIC), the chemical responsible for the 1984 Bhopal disaster. An MIC leak at the Institute plant in August 1985 sent hundreds of residents to area hospitals and helped spur passage of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). The same corridor saw the 2008 Bayer CropScience explosion in Institute that killed two workers, the 2010 toxic gas release at the DuPont facility in Belle, and the 2014 Freedom Industries crude MCHM spill that contaminated drinking water for roughly 300,000 residents across nine counties.

That history matters legally. West Virginia juries in the Good v. American Water litigation and the related Freedom Industries cases recognized that communities living next to chemical infrastructure deserve prompt, transparent, and well-funded responses when something goes wrong. Powell & Majestro served as Settlement Class Counsel in the federal court proceedings and as Liaison and Co-Lead Counsel before the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel in those cases, helping implement a $151 million settlement for roughly 250,000 residents and businesses. 

Talk to Powell & Majestro P.L.L.C. About Your Options

Evidence in chemical exposure cases is time-sensitive. Plant logs, maintenance records, air monitoring data, and even witness recollections begin disappearing almost immediately. Powell & Majestro has represented Kanawha Valley residents in some of the region’s most significant environmental cases over the past two decades, from the Freedom Industries water contamination litigation to ongoing mass actions affecting Charleston-area communities today.

If you or a loved one was inside the shelter-in-place zone on April 22, 2026 — or if you have developed symptoms or property issues since — call (304) 346-2889 in Charleston, (304) 422-6555 in Parkersburg, or (800) 650-2889 toll-free. Video consultations are available for people outside the Charleston area. There is no cost to discuss your case, and no attorneys’ fees unless a recovery is obtained.