Six people were recovering Wednesday after they were exposed to battery acid at an oil well site in Wetzel County.

The incident happened at around 9 a.m. at a Chesapeake Energy-operated drilling rig on Route 89 in New Martinsville, a company representative said.

According to Matt Sheppard, senior director of corporate development, five men were admitted to the hospital and one was released. Sheppard said the workers were exposed to a material while drilling, causing them to become nauseated.

All of the patients work for Chesapeake-affiliated companies.

Emergency workers said the men were exposed to lithium chloride. Wetzel County Hospital's chief executive officer said the chemical had come in contact with each of the victim's skin and all of the victims inhaled it during the explosion.

The men were transported around 10:15 a.m., and the hospital prepared for the victims' arrival by setting up a tent in the hospital parking lot. There, two fire departments helped decontaminate the men before they went inside the hospital.

"They will be observed. The emergency department will determine whether they'll be discharged, treated in-house or moved to another facility," said George Couch, Wetzel County Hospital CEO.

Couch said the men were stable and will be monitored for the next 24 to 48 hours.

The drilling site remains closed off while officials investigate.

In an e-mail to NEWS9, Sheppard wrote, "The site has been secured. There is no danger to the public. Chesapeake personnel are on the scene. Chesapeake’s priorities lie in the well-being of our employees and safety of the community."

In the meantime, Department of Environmental Protection workers were waiting Wednesday for Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators so they could go inside the site and begin probing what went wrong.

"We will probably first ask what kind of air monitoring the company is doing and see what kinds of readings they've had and go from there," said Jamie Fenske, of the DEP.

Preliminary information about the industrial accident did not reveal much.

Fenske said, "We were informed that there was a release from some batteries used when developing a well."

The DEP must now determine if more hazardous materials will have to be removed from the site. OSHA is expected to investigate if there is more danger to rig workers there in the future.

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