Fertilizer tank bursts at Mockonema plant

A 200,000-gallon tank of ammonium phosphate fertilizer burst at McGregor Company’s Mockonema manufacturing plant Monday afternoon. The rupture gushed approximately 100,000 gallons of the liquid fertilizer onto the ground and across the Endicott Road.

The rupture occurred at 2:30 p.m., when employees were mixing ammonia and uric acid to make the ammonium phosphate.

No one was injured when the tank began gushing fluid. Jim Lemon said Chris Hille was watching over the mixing process when the tank burst.

“He said he heard a crunch of metal, looked up and just saw this stream of green flowing out,...