Defense Contractor Attorney Near Cayce, SC

Hazardous materials incident prompts evacuations in Cayce. (WACH)

CAYCE, S.C. (WACH) — Emergency crews are responding to a hazardous materials incident at Crystal Clean in Cayce, after a chemical reaction caused a tanker to heat up.

According to City of Cayce officials, potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide were accidentally mixed with cooking oil, leading to chemical off-gassing and the tanker becoming warm to the touch.

Residents who were evacuated near Poplar Street can return home.

Hazmat teams from the City of Columbia and Lexington County are on the scene, working with Cayce first responders.

Residents with concerns can call 911 for emergencies or 803-794-0456 for non-emergency assistance.

According to Lexington School District Two, Brookland-Cayce High School remains on a temporary HOLD response protocol.

District officials say all students and staff are safe, and families have been notified of the situation.

As a precaution, students from Brookland-Cayce who attend morning classes at the Lexington Two Innovation Center will remain there for now to help keep roads near the high school clear for emergency crews.

District officials say they are closely monitoring the situation and remain in contact with families, city officials, and emergency responders.

The district issued the following statement to parents due to the hazmat incident:

According to a statement released a short time ago by the city of Cayce, the Fire Department and other responding agencies are currently managing an active hazardous materials situation at an off-campus location, at Crystal Clean, 627 Poplar Street in Cayce.Officials have secured a 2-block radius around Crystal Clean and are working with residents and businesses there.In an abundance of caution, Brookland-Cayce High School is on a temporary Hold response protocol, with the school day continuing on a normal schedule but students and staff remaining inside the building. Students and staff are safe. We ask that visitors remain away from the school campus to allow responding agencies to work at Crystal Clean.We will keep you updated. Thank you.

At 4 pm the city of Cayce gave the following updates:

There were zero injuries in today’s incident.

CAYCE, SC (WACH) — Authorities have given the all-clear after a hazmat incident in Cayce forced dozens of residents from their homes Thursday morning.

Ten local agencies, including the Cayce Fire Department, worked to control the situation.

According to officials, Crystal Clean Waste Management accidentally caused a chemical off-gassing.

Residents were evacuated just before 8 a.m.

Paige Fletcher, who lives near Poplar Street, described the scene,

There's a chemical smell like a gas smell in the air. I've smelled gas leak so I can recognize the smell but nothing as widespread as this so to be standing out a few blocks away and to smell the gas leak it is concerning."

Cayce Fire Chief Steven Bullard explained that potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide were accidentally mixed with cooking oil, causing a chemical reaction.

The biggest threat that we thought was going to happen was an explosion from the tank due to the chemical reaction in there. It continued to heat while we were on scene," Bullard said.

The city issued a Code Red alert for safety, evacuating 80 homes.

Ashley Hunter, City of Cayce PIO, noted,

The tanker truck is a 4000 gallon truck, it only had 1900 gallons of fluid and substance inside of it."

A third-party company was contacted to remove the hazardous material.

No injuries were reported, but officials acknowledged the incident could have been prevented.

Hunter added, "What can be done to prevent this, what caused that, that'll certainly be thing that our fire department and emergency crews will be working on in the days to come."

The Code Red has been lifted, and residents have returned home.

The city encourages residents to sign up for Code Red alerts as the investigation continues.

Cayce, SC 10/20/2025 - Eighteen local elected leaders, including , from across South Carolina been selected for the inaugural Fellows program, a bipartisan initiative designed to strengthen education policy from early childhood through workforce development.

The program, launching this month, brings The Hunt Institute’s proven fellowship model to the Palmetto State after proven . Fellows will examine South Carolina’s education system, connect with experts and practitioners, and develop strategies to improve educational outcomes in their communities.

Mayor Partin stated, “As Mayor for Cayce, SC, I’m honored to represent our community in The Hunt Institute’s inaugural SC Hunt State Policy Fellows program! It’s humbling to be selected to be with such a dynamic group of elected officials. I’ve already learned so much like every $1 investment in early childcare produces $7 in ROI. The SC State Chamber has good data on the cost when people can’t go to work because of childcare issues. This has a direct impact on our residents and it’s something we can improve.”

“We’re focused on giving leaders practical strategies that strengthen education and support families across South Carolina,” said Dr. Javaid Siddiqi, President & CEO of The Hunt Institute. “This cohort brings together leaders who are positioned to drive meaningful change in their communities.”

From October 2025 through February 2026, Fellows will participate in three convenings focused on early childhood, K-12 education, and postsecondary and workforce development. Sessions will feature briefings, panel discussions, and collaborative work with South Carolina education experts and practitioners.

The 2025 South Carolina Hunt State Policy Fellows cohort includes:

Mayors:

Billy Chavis, Town of Holly Hill, Lyman Dawkins III, City of Gaffney, GP McLeer, City of Fountain Inn, Elise Partin, City of Cayce, and Miko Pickett, City of Mullins

County and City Council Members:

Chris Bowers, Pickens County Council, Dr. Aditi Bussells, City of Columbia, Eddie Crosby, Dorchester County Council, Dennis DiSabato, Vice Chairman, Horry County Council, Ron Felder, Aiken County Council, Chaquez T. McCall, City of Florence, Sarai Melendez, City of Walhalla, Meghan Smith, City of Spartanburg, and Dan Wood, Town of Bluffton

School Board Trustees:

Wendy Burgess, Anderson County School District 1, Michelle Goodwin-Calwile, Greenville County School District, Liz Morris, Aiken County School District, and Rebecca Rundlett, Kershaw County School District

The Hunt Institute has successfully convened five cohorts in North Carolina and one in Virginia, building a network of more than 100 local and state leaders committed to strengthening education policy. The South Carolina cohort extends this work to support leaders across the Southeast.

Mayor Elise Partin of Cayce

CAYCE — City officials are allowing residents to return to their homes after evacuations surrounding a waste management plant.

Some parts of the Avenues neighborhood in Cayce were evacuated the morning of Oct. 2 after hazardous chemicals were accidentally combined at the plant on Poplar Street.

The city allowed residents to return at 1 p.m., according to a release from the city.

“The evacuation notice has been lifted and it is safe to return home,” the release said, in part.

The evacuation orders were issued to homes near Crystal Clean, a facility located at 627 Poplar St. that manages the cleanup of environmentally harmful chemicals, like used oil, forever chemicals and emergency chemical spills.

The city received a call at 6:52 a.m. reporting hazardous vapors coming from a tanker truck that had become warm to the touch, according to Cayce officials. City spokesperson Ashley Hunter said it was unclear how the chemicals became mixed.

Firefighters determined that the vapors were caused by the heating of potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, motor fuel and a small amount of antifreeze.

Eighty homes were immediately evacuated as a precaution. All residents within a quarter-mile radius of the plant were placed under evacuation. The boundaries for evacuation ran from Eighth Avenue to Lorick Street and from M Avenue to Railroad Street.

A third-party cleanup team arrived on site at 11:15 a.m. to begin unloading the chemicals from the tanker truck, the city said. A medical and tactical team were also on standby. Hazardous materials teams from the city of Columbia and Lexington County had been on the scene, aided by Cayce’s fire department.

Roads in the area began reopening at noon, before the “all clear” notice was given at 1 p.m.

Anyone in need of assistance was told to call 803-794-0456 in the release.

Officials are investigating a hazardous chemical reaction at Crystal Clean in Cayce after residents were evacuated on Thursday.

CAYCE, S.C. — Officials are working to learn more about the chemicals that triggered a hazardous materials response Thursday morning at Crystal Clean in Cayce.

Just before 7 a.m., vapors were spotted rising from a tanker truck at the company’s location at 627 Poplar Street. Fire crews determined potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide had accidentally mixed with motor oil and antifreeze, causing chemical off-gassing and heating inside the tanker.

Crystal Clean, an environmental service provider with locations across the United States, told News19 the company provides used motor oil collection and waste management services to small businesses and industrial clients. The Cayce site is the company’s only location in South Carolina.

Local officials confirmed the company has had no reports of prior violations.

University of South Carolina chemistry professors said the type of chemical reaction appears unusual for this kind of mixture.

"I'm a little perplexed on what caused the off gassing, maybe it was too much of one thing and not another thing, another ingredient," Susan Richardson said.

Richardson said if temperatures rose too quickly, the reaction could have become dangerous.

“If things are added too quickly together, and the temperature shoots up really high, then the glycerol that's formed in this process can break down and react to form acrolein” Richardson said.

According to Richardson, acrolein is toxic.

“If that's what happened, if the temperature got out of control and it wasn't done carefully, the reaction, then acrolein could form and that's a huge hazard,” she said.

Crystal Clean said in a statement to News19 that it is committed to environmental compliance and to the safety of its employees and the communities it serves.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.