PORTSMOUTH — A hotel maintenance worker was transported by ambulance to the hospital Thursday after inadvertently mixing cleaning chemicals which, when combined, created a chlorine vapor.

The accident occurred at 10:12 a.m. at the Motel 6 on Gosling Road, said Assistant Fire Chief Steve Achilles. The call was initially reported as a hazardous materials incident which created medical problems for the hotel worker, he said.

Firefighters found the worker on the first floor where he was experiencing “non life threatening respiratory irritation,” said Achilles. An odor of chlorine was detected by firefighters wearing protective clothing who checked for toxicity and ventilated the area, he said.

Eighteen guests staying at the hotel were allowed to remain in their rooms after it was determined that the chemical vapor was isolated, said Achilles.

Firefighters determined the chlorine vapor was released when the worker poured a cleaning solvent from a larger container into a smaller one which contained residue of another incompatible chemical. The incident was “purely accidental,” said Achilles.

Over 30 patients were temporarily moved from a ward of St Luke’s General Hospital in Co Kilkenny following a chemical scare this afternoon.

The incident happened shortly after 1.15pm when a chemical reaction in a bin containing cleaning agents caused alarm over the spreading of fumes. The 31 patients were moved as a precaution after the hospital’s internal emergency plan was enforced and the services of the fire brigade sought.

A spokesman for Kilkenny fire brigade said the chemical was contained in a bin in a washroom next to the surgery ward. Fire services were able to remove it from the hospital before treating it outside by pouring copious amounts of water on it.

He said the chemical in question was a type of chlorine used for disinfection that had reacted with something else in the bin.

Four contract cleaners are in hospital - with one of them critical - after being overcome by toxic fumes when a mixture of bleach and caustic soda exploded in a Wan Chai alley.
The cleaners, a woman and three men, are outsourced workers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. They were about to clean a back alley next to a restaurant in Jaffe Road when the explosion occurred at about 10am.

White fumes with a strong chemical odor spewed out of the bucket containing the mixture. Two bottles of chemicals were next to the bucket and yellow powder was spread on the ground.

A CHEMICAL spill caused panic this morning at a popular child's water playground on Cairns Esplanade.

The spill occurred at Muddy's Playground at 9.30am, forcing an emergency response from fire crews, council and an external contractor.


Initial reports are of no injuries after an un-named person, thought to be a worker, mixed 4l of bleach with hydrochloric acid.

The toxic mix can decay the skin and eyes.

Cairns mayor Val Schier said "accidents happen" and no one was harmed.

She reassured people the spill had been cleaned up and the playground, dominated by a water fountain that sprays children, will reopen this afternoon.

"A mistake had been made mixing chemicals with the water," Cr Schier.

BLUE ISLAND, Ill.— 22 students and 10 staff members were transported to hospitals after a chemical reaction released fumes throughout Paul Revere Intermediate School in Blue Island just before noon today.

District 130 Communications Coordinator Stephanie Fordice said the release appears to have originated in a first-floor custodian room after bleach was poured into a drain.

The school was evacuated after numerous complaints of shortness of breath and feeling lightheaded.

The Blue Island Fire Department categorizes those injured in "good condition."

West Bainbridge Elementary School was evacuated near the end of the school day on Friday due to a small chemical spill inside, according to Bainbridge Public Safety.

The Bainbridge-Decatur County Hazardous Materials Response Team, led by BPS Assistant Fire Chief Doyle Welch, responded to the school around 3 p.m. Friday.

The spill happened inside a classroom and was relatively minor, BPS Fire Chief Dennis Mock said. However, students and teachers were evacuated out of precaution, as custodians had applied cleaning chemicals on top of the spill.

An ambulance was called to the scene to treat two people who had been exposed to the chemical spill, Chief Mock said. A female teacher was taken to the emergency room at Memorial Hospital with a complaint of breathing trouble, while a student was treated at the scene by EMS and released, Mock said.

Fear must have struck parents arriving to pick up their children at West Bainbridge Elementary School on Friday afternoon.  They arrived to see Bainbridge Public Safety Hazmat, Public Safety officers, EMS and Decatur County Fire and Rescue blocking the front door.

Hazmat Commander and Asst Fire Chief Doyle Welch tells us what happened, with scenes from the school.


What was originally thought to be a classroom mercury spill causing respiratory problems, turned out to be cleaning chemicals mixed when the spill was being cleaned.

A teacher, a custodian and a pre-K student were transported to the hospital with respiratory problems and headaches, but several hours later, appeared to be fine.  Asst. Fire Chief Welch told us that mixing some cleaning chemicals together can create toxic fumes.  He stated he worked with the Georgia State Poison Control Center and Memorial Hospital to ascertain the potential for harm in the chemicals used.

Part of central Dunedin was cordoned off tonight as firefighters worked to clear a chemical spill at Speight's Brewery.

Acting Fire Station officer Martin Jansen said about 20 firefighters were still at the scene tonight tackling the spillage of 300 litres of nitrobrite, a highly corrosive cleaning chemical, which was reacting with the container it was stored in.

The firefighters were attempting to dilute the substance so they could shift it to another container and dispose of it.

AURORA, Colo. --  Officials say one man was treated at the hostpital after inhaling drain cleaner fumes in his Aurora apartment.

At about 7:55 p.m. a man called 911 and said he had suddenly become sick at his apartment in Del Mar Circle.

When HazMat crews arrived they found a pot on the stove with chemicals in it giving off fumes.

The man told officials that he thought boiling the drain cleaner would make it more effective. He said the gas fumes made him dizzy.

A family was overcome by chemical fumes and had to be rescued by firefighters after two cleaning products were mixed together at an Oxfordshire home.

Crews were called to a house in Clare, near Watlington, on Tuesday afternoon.

The house was cordoned off and two adults and a child were taken to hospital.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said two cleaning products, including a drain unblocker, had been mixed together creating chlorine gas.

'Very toxic'
Crews wore specialist equipment and breathing apparatus to clear up the chemicals.

Incident Commander and station manager Gary D'Anger said: "The occupants had been using a chemical drain blocker and mixed this with a cleaning product to cleanse a waste pipe.

"These two chemicals produced a very toxic chlorine gas which caused the occupiers breathing difficulties.

"Very toxic chemicals and gases can be produced by mixing different cleaning products together which can cause very serious and sometime permanent injuries.

"Always follow the instructions on the bottle and never mix cleaning products".

An employee was taken to  the hospital after he accidentally mixed several chemicals together while trying to unclog a urinal at an interstate truck stop.

Members of the  Loudon County Fire and Rescue along with the Loudon County Sheriff's Office responded to the Knox West Travel Center on Watt Road off I-40 Exit 339 just before 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Officials say the employee mixed together drain cleaner and bleach causing a toxic gas.

Two other people were treated, but refused transportation to the hospital.

WESTWOOD - A hazardous materials team was sent Thursday to UCLA, where a spill of a cleaning agent inside a building left three people feeling ill.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded at 2:31 p.m. to a report of an "unknown chemical spill" in the Biomedical Sciences Research Building, city fire spokesman Devin Gales said.
Three facilities workers who reported feeling nauseous were treated at the scene, according to UCLA officials, and about 200 people were safely evacuated from the building.
South Charles E. Young Drive was closed between Tiverton Drive and Westholme Avenue.
The spilled cleaning agent, identified as chlorine dioxide, was contained by 3:30 p.m., officials said.

Maple Shade firefighters responded to an explosion Tuesday night that blew out the windows of a unit at the Southern Arms apartment complex, sending one man to the hospital for treatment of burns.

According to MSFD Chief Andrew Simonsick, the blast and subsequent fire was brought on by a reaction between some household chemicals which were being stored under the kitchen sink.

“We’re still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Some of the things just don’t add up. We’re looking into everything.”

Simonsick said the fire was definitely accidental and there was no malicious intent.

The kitchen and the living room of the unit sustained damage and some windows of the unit were blown out by the explosion. Residents of the building were evacuated at approximately 8 p.m. and were able to return less than two hours later, he said.

EIGHT people were given medical treatment following a chemical leak at Russells Hall Hospital last night.

West Midlands Fire Service was called to the hospital following the chemical incident in the ground floor laundry.

Alongside fire crews, the Service's hazardous specialist also attended to help contain the clear chemical liquid.

Fire fighters and nurses also treated eight people who were suffering from mild eye irritations as a result of the gas being released from the chemical.

TWO factory workers had to be taken to hospital following a chemical spill at a site in Holbeach St Marks.

Bakkavor Pizza on Sluice Road had to be evacuated and about 30 firefighters called in just before 9pm on Saturday.

Two staff members were left suffering from breathing difficulties from the incident, which was caused by an overconcentration of a chemical.

They were given oxygen before paramedics arrived on the scene and were later taken to hospital after showering and changing their clothes.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said Bakkavor workers had diluted a cleaning agent down and flushed the area before fire crews arrived.

Two people were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties following a chemical incident at a Lincolnshire factory.

More than 30 firefighters were called to the premises on Sluice Road, Holbeach St Marks, just before 2100 GMT on Saturday.

Specialist crews were also called to the scene and the area cordoned off.

A spokeswoman for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said a clean-up operation had been completed and the area made safe.

It is thought the incident happened during the cleaning of a food preparation area after disinfectant reacted with an unknown substance.

Northeast Senior High School in Pasadena was evacuated this morning after reports of a chemical odor.

Cpt. James Rostek with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department said that the first reports of the odor came at 9:29 this morning. The fire department's hazardous materials team was dispatched to the school and the cause was determined to be an organic solvent that was used on the floor tiles overnight.

Rostek said that the solvent was only known to be an irritant.

As of this writing, students were being picked up by parents and guardians but school was not dismissed.

Eight people have been treated by paramedics and hundreds more have been evacuated after a chemical scare in southern Sydney.

Fire and ambulance crews were called after a strong odour was detected throughout the Qantas catering building near Sydney Airport at 7.37am today.

NSW Fire Brigades Superintendent Ian Krimmer said the odour was believed to be from a floor treatment product.

"At this stage it is believed to be a floor treatment product, the vapours of which have gone through the building as a result of air-conditioning," he told reporters.

TAHOE CITY, Calif. — A chemical reaction was the probable cause for a cloud of noxious vapors Thursday morning at Tahoe Lake Elementary School that eventually led to the school being shut down prior to students arriving to campus, officials confirmed.

The North Tahoe Fire Protection District received a call at 8:31 a.m. Thursday, said spokesman Dave Zaski, about possible smoke coming from the gymnasium at the school.

...
Out of the staff evacuated, 18 people were assessed on scene by responding paramedics; 17 of them were immediately released, while one employee — janitor Frank Godoy — was taken to Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. Godoy was later released.

Steve Dickinson, assistant superintendent of finances, said Godoy had been mixing cleaning chemicals to scrub the gym floor when the chemicals caused the reaction.

Dickinson said the chemicals — which the district labeled as a releasing a “strong odor” and “visible fumes” — used by Godoy are unknown.

A man has been rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a chemical spill and fire this morning at a south Mississauga industrial building.
The man, who was working inside Armstrong Manufacturing, at 2485 Haines Rd., near Cawthra Rd., was taken to Trillium Health Centre at about 11:30 a.m. after suffering second-degree burns to 80 per cent of his body, according to Mississauga fire crews.
Peel Regional Police evacuated the company, which makes cleaning products.   
Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services' Hazardous Materials Unit is on the scene.
The worker was apparently separating mixtures when the spill and subsequent fire occurred, according to reports. The product that caused the damage was insecticidal soap concentrate, according to firefighters.

CLEARLAKE -- A Clearlake man required aerial transport to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after inhaling a deadly combination of toxins on Wednesday.

According to Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta, medical response was requested around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on Konocti View Road. Medics arrived to find the victim suffering of extreme shortness of breath, which they soon determined to be caused by hazardous materials released inside the residence. Sapeta said the situation was caused by a combination of Drano and sulfuric acid.

"People should not combine chemicals," Sapeta said. "Unknown chemicals mixed together can be fatal."

Leavenworth firefighters responded Saturday to Cushing Memorial Hospital for a smoke odor that turned out to be the result of a chemical reaction, a Fire Department official said.

No injuries were reported. The incident was reported at 4:35 p.m. Saturday at the hospital, 711 Marshall St.

The chemical reaction was caused in a laundry room by a leaking bleach solution coming into contact with plywood, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mark Nietzke.

“It charred the wood and the wood started burning,” he said.

Nietzke said he doesn’t know if the chemical reaction produced any flames.

Five workers at a food processing plant in Fresno are recovering, after a chemical spill sent them to the hospital Thursday morning.

The incident happened around 3 a.m. at Lyons Magnus, south of Downtown Fresno.  

Hospital workers alerted fire crews to the incident, after several of the plant's employees drove themselves to the hospital, complaining of the fumes.

When firefighters arrived at the plant, along east Hamilton, workers told them they had cleaned up the spill of chlorine and acid.

Firefighters say the mix can aggravate a person's lungs.

There were approximately 50 people working at the plant at the time of the spill, however no one else was hospitalized.

CHINO - A chemical spill inside a laundry facility in a yard at the California Institution for Men sent one inmate to the hospital with chemical burns and caused minor injuries to six corrections officers.
Two other inmates were treated at the prison.
About seven inmates in the facility were medically evaluated and decontaminated, but did not receive any other injuries, said Lt. Mark Hargrove, spokesman for CIM.
Hargrove said an investigation is ongoing, but the spill would likely be determined an accident.
Inmates, he said, accidentally dropped a 55-gallon drum containing a liquid cleaning agent that had been approved for use by the state.

An incident occurred in the 30,000 block of Rim Rock Pl. that could have been the source of rumors a week ago.
     On Wednesday evening, October 20, police and paramedics were called to a home where a man collapsed and died. A woman was taken away in an ambulance, and bystanders saw police, fire trucks, two Hazmat units and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), treating the area as they would a hazardous materials scene, leading some to believe there might have been a methamphetamine lab. Subsequent evidence seems to indicate this was not the case.
     The incident is still under investigation, according to CLPD Cpl. Ole Williams; however, a neighbor, who is also a nurse, became involved in this incident soon after the victim was discovered and these were her observations:
     The nurse heard a woman screaming in their cul-de-sac so she rushed to her assistance. The woman said she had found her boyfriend “unconscious” inside. The nurse went in with her and immediately smelled strong fumes. She reported the fumes when she called 911. When the nurse and girlfriend attempted to turn over the victim to provide CPR, the nurse recognized he already was deceased. At that time, she also observed carpet-cleaning equipment and a large fan nearby.

An early morning fire, possibly caused by a chemical reaction, has temporarily closed Libya's Deli, causing mostly smoke damage to the South Main Street establishment, fire officials said.

"We think there was some kind of reaction," Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said.

The call came in at about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday to the Newtown police department after a motion detector alarm was triggered, Halstead said.

Several hours earlier, the owner had finished cleaning the grill and stove, placing wet rags soaked with cleaning fluids in a plastic pail and left for the evening at about 6 p.m., Halstead said. Fire officials suspect the cleaning chemicals left over from the rags may have reacted with another, sparking the fire.

Police and later fire responded to the scene, 286 S. Main St., and spent a few minutes putting out the fire, which was pretty well contained, Halstead said.

The London Ambulance service received the first report at 2.20 PM with a single responder and hazardous area response team attending first. Four adult males were assessed on scene for inhalation of fumes and were transported in a single ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, for further assessment.
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade confirmed that an unknown quantity of floor cleaner and bleach had been mixed and firefighters attended the scene with specialist detection equipment but did not find any elevated levels of a dangerous chemical. College Approach and Creek Road reopened at 4.30 PM.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Grand Rapids firefighters and hazardous materials units responded to a chemical spill along 28th Street SE early this morning.
Crews were called to a building at 100 28th St SE that houses Model Coverall Service Inc. after a mixture of ammonia and other chemicals spilled and combined.
No injuries were reported in the accident, which happen about 5:30 a.m.
Traffic on 28th Street backed up as drivers slowed to see what was going on. A strong smell of ammonia filled the air as crews worked inside the building.

Several children have been treated by paramedics at a school in Twickenham after 100 litres of chemicals were poured down a drain.

The youngsters had been attending a summer camp at St Catherine's School, Cross Deep, when the incident happened at about 1030 BST.

London Ambulance Service (LAS) said it had treated 26 children and adults showing "minor symptoms" from fumes.

All of the children who were treated were then taken to hospital.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said it believed about 100 litres of sodium hypochlorite and sodium bisulphate were poured down a nearby drain.

The Eagan Fire Department tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that six people have been taken to Regions Hospital after a strong chemical odor was discovered at the Crown Plaza Hotel.

The fire department says a 20-year employee of the hotel accidently combined what she thought were two like chemicals. Instead the chemicals combined causing a violent reaction. The  reaction produced a gas called Phosgene which can cause severe respiratory distress and can be deadly.

The two chemicals combined were Destainer and Sour VII. The fire department reports as many as 75 emergency responders responded to the scene. The hotel had about 80 guests who were evacuated. Five of the six taken to Regions have been released, one will remain overnight Friday for observation

A chemical fire at the J & J Chemical warehouses north of town has been burning since early Wednesday and does not seem to be stopping any time soon.

Chuck Gulley, Athens-Clarke Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, outside the chemical fire at J&J Chemical warehouse.
Chuck Gulley, Athens-Clarke Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, has been at the site since the call.
“The original call came in after just after midnight,” Gulley said. “We expect it to continue burning through the day and into the night.”
The J & J Chemical Company makes cleaners, deodorizers, urinal blocks and fragrance enhancers for toilets and porter johns. The main chemicals in the warehouse were glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde and the royal blue solution dye which is the coloring for most of their products.
Emergency teams from the ACC Hazmat unit and the UGA HART crew have been trying to contain the leaking chemicals since the beginning of the fire.
“Glutaraldehyde is used for sterilization of indoscopic instruments, thermometers, rubber and plastical equipment,” said chemistry Graduate Coordinator Professor George Majetich. “Since they use it for sterilization for medical instruments, I would have to say that there will be a minimal effect since it will be oxidized to a compound that’s found in our own food.”
“Formaldehyde is an extremely toxic chemical for aquatic life, this includes both plants and animals,” said James Porter, Associate Dean and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor for Ecology. “A high concentration could be very toxic to the river.”
Gulley specifically wanted the public to know if the Oconee River is blue for a few days, that it is still safe.

A restaurant worker's face was burnt off in a chemical explosion on the Sunshine Coast yesterday.

The 27-year-old man, who lives in Cooroy, lost all three layers of skin on his face in the blast.

It was thought he poured the chemical cleaning agent sodium hydroxide, or caustic soda, down a drain at Cooroy Chinese about 10am yesterday.

The young man, who speaks very little English, remained conscious and needed no breathing assistance in the two hours before he arrived by air at the Royal Brisbane Burns unit at midday.

The man, who was doing some cleaning at the time, also suffered third degree or “full thickness burns” to his left and right arms.

Shocked staff from neighbouring businesses and curious bystanders watched as a convoy of emergency service vehicles, police and a suited-up hazardous materials unit converged on the restaurant.

TORRINGTON — A woman cleaning a tub became ill from chemicals that caused a toxic reaction Thursday afternoon, Torrington Fire Captain David Rogers said.
Firefighters responded to a house at 173 Culvert St. around 1:50 p.m. for an emergency involving hazardous materials. The first responders treated the woman on scene for a respiratory ailment and then took her to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Rogers said.
“Incompatible cleaning chemicals mixed and gave off a toxic batch of fumes,” Rogers said. “It caused some respiratory issues for the woman. She is asthmatic as well. This makes her a little more sensitive to those types of fumes.”
After the woman was outside the house, the firefighters measured the air quality inside the structure. Their readings detected the air was safe to breath again, as the tiny amount of toxic fumes had dissipated, Rogers said. Another person was at the house when the woman became ill yet was not harmed, he said.