Tons of hazardous material is spilled in a local community, now officials in Carroll County are investigating how the hazardous material was leaked in the first place and how to safely clean up the stuff. From a distance the white powdery substance looks like snow but it's a hazardous material that is potentially very dangerous. The problem happened at the Minerva Railroad Yard. General Manager Tom Barnett says last week, crews from a Pennsylvania company called Industrial Waste Group dumped ammonia nitrate out of train cars that were meant to be cleaned. The material when handled the wrong way can be highly explosive. In fact, ammonia nitrate was one of the primary agents used in the Oklahoma City bombing. But Carroll County EMA Director Tom Cottis says there's a lot more of the hazardous material in Minerva, than was used in the bombing, "I would say a ball park of five times as much." NEWS9 placed several calls to Industrial Waste Group, but our calls were not returned by our editorial deadline. Officials say an estimated three tons of hazardous material was spilled but there is no threat to people who live in the county.

Kelly Bryan NEWS9