Late Friday night Oxford firefighters responded to a blaze at the Tull Chemical Company, the world’s only producer of Compound 1080, developed as a rat poison in German-occupied territories during World War II.
No injuries or fatalities were reported following the incident but one building was destroyed, according to Oxford Fire Chief Gary Sparks.
At 11:14 p.m. on Oct. 18, firefighters were dispatched to the location. The Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency, Environmental Protection Agency and Alabama Department of Environmental Management also arrived at the scene, according to CBS 42.
Sparks said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined. Moving forward, he said the company would be following Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations to keep workers out of the building until testing was done to ensure a safe return.
An EPA cleanup crew is scheduled to arrive in Oxford on Oct. 20 to deal with the fire’s effects, Sparks said.
Compound 1080, made at the Tull Chemical plant, is used today to control a number of pests in parts of the U.S. and several other countries, particularly New Zealand.
“Although we call it 1080, the toxic ingredient in the bait is sodium fluoroacetate. Fluoroacetate is a naturally occurring toxin that is found in several poisonous plants around the world and provides some defence against mammals. 1080 bait contains a synthetic salt form of this toxin,” according to the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
A 2004 article from The Washington Post notes that some environmentalists have called for a complete ban of Compound 1080. “It’s an extremely dangerous product, and it worries me it’s made in my neighborhood,” a resident of Oxford told The Washington Post.
Representatives for the Tull Chemical Company did not respond to requests for comment.
