Multiple people hospitalized after chemical exposure at Byron nuclear plant in Illinois

Eight people were taken to hospitals after being exposed to chemicals at the Byron Clean Energy Center nuclear plant southwest of Rockford, Illinois, on Tuesday.

Ten more people self-transported to hospitals, officials said.

Constellation Generation said eight outage workers were hospitalized as a precaution after a small amount of "a common non-radiological chemical used in plant systems" escaped a holding tank in the turbine building.

This happened just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. No one was reported to be seriously injured or ill.

"Byron's highly-trained response teams took appropriate steps to contain the leak quickly and ensure potentially impacted workers received appropriate medical attention," Constellation Generation said in a statement. "While this event does not impact public health or safety, we will continue to keep Byron workers and community stakeholders informed."

The chemical to which the workers were exposed has not been identified. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission told CBS affiliate WIFR in Rockford that the chemical was not one that it regulates.

The power plant is about 30 miles southwest of Rockford, and about 100 miles from Chicago.