In a company, toxic gas escapes from a cleaning agent mixture. 25 employees suffer respiratory irritation. The intervention of one man prevents something worse from happening.
Konstanz – 25 people were injured in a chemical accident in Konstanz. They suffered respiratory irritation the morning after inhaling a chemical and were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The employees of a company in the food industry had discovered a corrosive and smoking gas, as a police spokeswoman said upon request. The gas came out of a container stored in the basement. According to a fire department spokesman, the situation was “life-threatening.” But a company employee acted quickly and did the right thing.
The man wore full protection and took the container out of the building with a forklift. There the escaping gas could evaporate in the air and no longer cause any damage. There was no danger to residents or the environment. The man remained unhurt.
Mixture of nitric acid and horolith
According to the police spokeswoman, two chemicals were mixed together in a 1,000 liter container at the company on Thursday to produce a cleaning agent for boilers. The company produces fruit preparation solutions for the food and beverage industry. According to initial findings, the substances were 53 percent nitric acid and horolith (cleaning agents).
According to the information, for reasons that are still unknown, there was an increase in temperature and a chemical reaction, which caused highly toxic nitrous gases to escape and spread throughout the building. “The substances reacted violently with each other,” explained the fire department spokesman, “as a result of which corrosive gases escaped into the basement, which led to respiratory injuries.”
“The situation was life-threatening”
The fumes could have burned the employees' lungs if the container had not been taken out into the fresh air. “The situation was life-threatening,” said the fire department spokesman.
A special company had to be called in to recover and dispose of the materials from the container, which was still on its way in the early afternoon. The fire department prepared to pump the chemical mixture into another 1,000 liter container. In the second container there is a solvent that will dilute the mixture and thus render it harmless. dpa
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