BALDWIN PARK — Officials advised occupants of businesses and homes in the area of Littlejohn Street to stay indoors Thursday in response to an ammonia leak at a manufacturing business, officials said.
The incident was first reported about 12:45 p.m. at a business at MacDonald Carbide Co., 4510 Littlejohn Street, according to Baldwin Park police and Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.
One person reported feeling ill as a result of the toxic fumes but declined to be taken to a hospital, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Brian Riley said.
It initially appeared work was being done in the area when a power line was severed, causing a power outage that cause a 3,000-gallon tank of ammonia to begin leaking, Riley said. It was not clear Thursday how much of the chemical escaped.
Police cordoned off the area as a hazardous materials crew shut off a leaking pressure valve, he said.
Ammonia gas dissipates naturally in the atmosphere, so an extensive clean-up operation was not necessary, the inspector added.
No evacuations were ordered, Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso said, however those in the area were told to stay indoors as Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters took care of the leak and tested the air.
Some nearby businesses evacuated voluntarily.

PHOTO: Employees of nearby businesses evacuate from the 4500 block of
Littlejohn Street in Baldwin Park as a Los Angeles County Fire
Department hazardous material crew deals with an ammonia spill at a
business on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2012. (Courtesy of Jason Dowling)