PORT ANGELES – A hazardous-chemical leak at a Port Angeles mill shut down access to Ediz Hook Thursday night.

Port Angeles Fire Department was called to the McKinley Paper Mill just after 7:30 pm for an ammonia leak from a 16,000-gallon tank.

PAFD Captain Kelly Ziegler says crews initially isolated the area and controlled traffic on Marine Drive, not allowing vehicles through the area. He says mill safety personnel were able to use monitoring equipment to establish an isolation zone and confirmed the spill was in a containment area.

Ziegler says the safety equipment in place at the mill prevented the ammonia from reaching the water or getting into the general environment. No one was injured. It’s still unknown just how much ammonia leaked, but officials believe McKinley crews will be able to manage safe removal.