EPA and Missouri officials monitoring air quality after lithium battery plant fire

The Environmental Protection Agency is working with Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources to monitor the air quality in Fredericktown after a major fire at a lithium battery plant on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

A spokesman with the EPA said two on-scene coordinators were dispatched after a request for air monitoring support came from DNR on Wednesday. The Critical Mineral Recovery plant erupted in flames, sending a large, dark plume of smoke across the sky to the north of the plant.

“After integrating into the Incident Command for the response, the Fredericktown fire chief, serving as the Incident Commander, requested EPA to perform roving air monitoring,” EPA spokesman Kellen Ashford said. “After reviewing the results of air monitoring, the fire chief made the decision to maintain the evacuation zone established on Wednesday, Oct. 30.”

The EPA was conducting roving and stationary air monitoring as of 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, Ashford said. The public will be notified if air monitoring results exceed EPA’s action levels, Ashford said.

“This is a dynamic situation and EPA will provide updates as appropriate through news releases and social media,” Ashford said. “EPA encourages local residents to follow the orders of local emergency personnel in regard to the evacuation.”

The Fredericktown Fire Department posted on its Facebook page Wednesday night that residents were urged to “shelter in place indoors if you are in the smoke plume resulting from the industrial fire. … Close windows, doors and turn off window AC systems. The ONLY evacuation order is for residents on Madison County Road 277. Again if you see smoke, stay indoors.”

No one was injured in the fire.

A link to Critical Mineral Recovery's website was not working Thursday. An attorney representing the company told Fox 2 that the company employs 75 people. The attorney told the news outlet that lithium-ion batteries are inherently unstable and can easily ignite.