Second Silfab Solar chemical spill pushes York County to weigh legal options
York County Council set plans in motion Thursday to hold a special meeting Friday morning to discuss this week’s chemical spills at Silfab Solar in Fort Mill.
Council called a special meeting for 10:30 a.m. at the York County Government Center in York. The only agenda item is an executive session for legal advice on “Silfab Solar and recent site incidents.”
Silfab Solar, the solar panel manufacturer at 7149 Logistics Lane in unincorporated Fort Mill, has had two chemical spills this week. About 300 gallons of potassium hydroxide spilled on Tuesday, followed by a hydrofluoric acid leak on Thursday.
York County Council meetings have been filled the past few years with residents protesting Silfab’s location in Fort Mill, largely related to its location next to Flint Hill Elementary School. Public reaction to this week’s spills has been swift and angry.
Scott Jenson, a member of the Move Silfab group who is a parent in the Fort Mill school district, said Thursday the ongoing concerns at Silfab show York County and South Carolina require immediate action.
“This is insane,” he said. “They need to shut it down.”
York County has maintained that it doesn’t have regulatory authority to stop Silfab operations, deferring instead to the S.C. Department of Environmental Services. That agency began investigating Silfab after the initial spill.
The county pledged to “take any legally permissible action necessary to ensure our community is protected,” according to a statement Wednesday from York County Council Chairwoman Christi Cox.
York County and Silfab
York County has been involved in legal disputes regarding Silfab, which is located on a site zoned for light industrial uses.
The county Zoning Board of Appeals determined solar cell manufacturing should only be allowed on heavy industrial sites, but the county has maintained Silfab could continue in its location since the company got zoning verification from the county prior to the zoning board decision.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 11:49 AM.