Several roads in Whitfield County in northwest Georgia were briefly closed Monday morning while Dalton police and fire crews responded to a chemical reaction at a plant.

The incident, which occurred before 7:30 a.m at the MFG Chemical plant on Kimberly Park Drive, was initially reported by authorities as a chemical explosion, but was a chemical reaction, according to Dalton police spokesman Bruce Frazier.

Frazier said the chemical involved is an irritant but is not poisonous, and one person on the scene had to be decontaminated and transported to WellStar Cobb Hospital in Austell after apparently inhaling the chemical.

Frazier said Willowdale Road, Kimberly Park Drive and Crow Valley Road were closed for a short period, but have reopened. The chemical could be smelled from nearby U.S. 41, but that highway was not shut down.

Dalton is about 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, among others, will no longer be considered fee-free days at U.S. National Parks. While the MLK National Historic Park in Atlanta doesn't charge admission, the new schedule will affect such metro Atlanta sites as Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez