Vale of Glamorgan chemical incident leads to windows closure order

People living near a chemical plant have been told to keep windows and doors shut after a white mist began emerging.

South Wales Police advised the precaution following the incident at Dow’s site in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.

South Wales Fire and Rescue attended with several crews at the scene and issued the same advice as police.

Residents in Dinas Powys, Sully and Penarth have been affected.

Jon Darke, from Palmerston, Barry, about a mile-and-a-half from the plant, said: “They usually test the alarms every Monday afternoon at 3pm, so we’re used to hearing that.

“But when you hear it on Saturday, it means there’s something going on.”

It could, the 69-year-old said, be heard for miles.

“It’s a bit worrying. All the fumes and smoke were heading to Sully due to the wind.

Silicone has been produced at the site, previously called Dow Corning, since 1952. About 630 people work there.

Dow said: “Dow Performance can confirm that the incident reported earlier has been brought under control.

“Dow emergency management team and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service have been stood down.

“The all-clear klaxon has been sounded.”

The company is to investigate the matter to identify how to prevent it happening again.