The company behind Toledo’s chemical emergency had another chemical leak the night before — in Barberton, Ohio — and state investigators never got to inspect the tanker.

Barberton, Ohio — At 11:03 p.m. on Oct. 19, a tanker truck began leaking hydrochloric acid at a tanker terminal on Norton Avenue in Barberton, about 100 miles east of Toledo. About 50 gallons of the corrosive chemical escaped, according to an Ohio EPA estimate cited in state records. Two employees of the facility suffered exposure injuries, and one was taken to a hospital. Norton Avenue was closed for seven hours while the Summit County hazardous-materials team, environmental officials and cleanup crews responded. No waterways were affected and no evacuation was ordered.

State records obtained by WTOL 11 Investigates from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio identify the carrier as KAG Specialty Products Group LLC of North Canton, part of Kenan Advantage Group — the same corporate parent that owns MC Tank Transport, which KAG acquired in March 2025. The two incidents involved different chemicals and different operations, but the same corporate umbrella.

The PUCO report raises a question investigators could not answer: when PUCO investigator James Underation arrived at the Barberton facility on the afternoon of Oct. 20, the trailer was already gone. It had been moved to a Jones Hamilton location in Walbridge, Ohio — just outside Toledo. Jones Hamilton owned the trailer and leased it to KAG, a fact both companies confirmed to the investigator. The report does not say who ordered the trailer moved, why it was returned to Walbridge, or whether another agency examined it after it arrived there. Underation wrote in his report that he never saw the cargo tank. The Lake Erie Inquiry reported Nov. 5 that PUCO later confirmed its investigation was closed without inspecting the tanker or recording violations. The PUCO report does not identify the cause of the Barberton leak. WTOL 11 has requested the Ohio EPA report, and says it has reached out to KAG for comment on the Barberton incident.

A little more than 22 hours after the Barberton leak, around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 20, Toledo Fire & Rescue received a report of a chemical release at MC Tank Transport’s facility at 1266 Progress Ave. in north Toledo. An uncontrolled reaction inside a tank of glycidyl methacrylate, a chemical used in coatings, adhesives and plastics, prompted fears of an explosion. Residents within one mile were ordered to evacuate at 10:48 p.m.; residents within three miles were told to shelter in place the following morning. The tank kept releasing material until Oct. 22, and the remaining evacuation orders were not lifted until Oct. 23. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said Oct. 23 that an employee had introduced heat into the tank during a chemical transfer, triggering the reaction, and that MC Tank had accepted responsibility. The cause remains subject to regulatory investigation.

At least nine lawsuits have been filed over the Toledo incident, most seeking class-action status, from residents and businesses alleging physical symptoms, evacuation expenses, lost income and property contamination. Kenan Advantage Group and MC Tank are named as defendants. Most of the cases are assigned to Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Lindsay Navarre, who has not ruled on the class-action request but has denied efforts to consolidate the cases.

WTOL 11 also examined KAG’s earlier safety history: in 2020, two workers died of asphyxiation while cleaning a tanker at a KAG facility in Cleveland. OSHA investigated and issued citations, and federal records show settled penalties totaling $44,839. Those deaths happened years before KAG acquired MC Tank Transport and involved a different operation.

Related: 8 More Victims Just Sued MC Tank Over Toledo’s Chemical Leak

Image: born1945 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)