Toxic spill causes theft speculation

FOUNTAINTOWN, Ind. -- A manager of an agriculture business said he believes a fertilizer tank leak that forced an evacuation of more than two dozen families was caused by illegal tampering with the tank's valve.\nPolice officers routed traffic around Indiana 9 and U.S. 52 near the town about 20 miles southeast of Indianapolis after a 1,000-gallon tank of anhydrous ammonia was discovered leaking Monday.\nNo injuries were reported.\nShelby County sheriff's detective Sgt. David Tilford said thieves had hit the Ag One Co-op a couple of times before.\n"This is the first time we've had to attend to displaced residents," he said\nUsed as a fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia is stored as a liquid. But it turns into toxic gas when it makes contact with air.\nThe chemical is often used in the production of methamphetamine, and officials at the co-op suspect illegal drug makers were responsible for Monday's incident.\n"It's theft for sure," said Ray Kerkhof, the co-op's crops manager. "It's been tampered with."\nKerkhof said thefts of the fertilizer began occurring about five years ago. The business then began using special caps on the tanks to show whether their contents had been disturbed.