Risk to Windsor, Ont., ‘very low’ after Ohio chemical leak: mayor’s office

A plume of smokes rises from MC Tank Transport Inc., where a chemical tank exploded overnight, prompting hundreds of residents to evacuate or shelter in place amid concerns about a potential toxic release, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in north Toledo, Ohio. (Jeremy Wadsworth/The Blade via AP)

A spokesperson for the mayor of Windsor, Ont., says the border city is monitoring a toxic chemical leak in Toledo, Ohio that prompted evacuations on Tuesday night.

The spokesperson says the risk to Windsor residents is “very low” as the city is about 90 kilometres northeast of Toledo on the shores of Lake Erie and winds are blowing in the opposite direction.

Hundreds of Toledo residents fled their homes and sheltered in place Tuesday night after a chemical tank exploded, raising fears of an ongoing glycidyl methacrylate leak.

The industrial chemical can burn the eyes, nose, mouth and skin and is toxic if ingested, according to local officials in Ohio.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz says a police officer was injured while responding to the tank explosion and there’s concern the tank could explode again.

He says officials don’t know what caused the explosion.

Director of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department Karim Baroudi is advising Toledo residents to close their windows as officials work to determine the level of toxicity in the air.

The city ordered people within a 1.6-kilometre radius of the explosion to evacuate their homes and businesses Tuesday night.

A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents beyond the evacuation zone within a 4.8-kilometre radius.

The Canadian Press has reached out to federal and Ontario environment ministries for comment but did not immediately hear back.

-- with files from The Associated Press