RSOE EDIS - Situation Update No. 1 : USA - HAZMAT

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

Situation Update No. 1 Posted:2010-03-25, 20:11:36 [UTC] Ref.no.: HZ-20100325-25455-USA Situation Update No. 1 On 2010-03-26 at 04:17:22 [UTC] Event: HAZMAT Location: USA State of Utah Camp Williams Number of Injured: 11 person(s) Situation: A leak in the heating system was blamed Thursday for a chemical exposure that sent 11 members of the Utah National Guard working at Camp Williams to the hospital Thursday. About 9:30 a.m., some employees at the base, both guardsmen and civilian workers, were working on a technology upgrade in a classroom and office area in a building on the west side of Camp Williams. While working, some of the employees started exhibiting mild symptoms of exposure to something toxic, said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Smith. "Burning throats and noses, watery eyes; all of them had discomfort," he said. "They all experienced it." Seven members of the group drove themselves to Riverton Hospital, 3741 W. 12600 South, to be checked out. When hospital personnel heard about the symptoms, they called Unified Fire's hazardous materials team as a precaution. Firefighters set up a decontamination area in the parking lot of the hospital so each worker could be decontaminated before being admitted to the emergency room. The remaining four employees were sent to the hospital a short time later for decontamination as a precaution, Smith said. All patients were released from the hospital by 2:15 p.m. The National Guard's 85th Civil Support Team inspected the building and found a leak in the heating system. The leak was getting into the drywall, according to a prepared statement from the Utah National Guard. "The combination of the "weak acid" from the leak and the calcium carbonate contained in the wallboard material combined to create the airborne irritant that caused victims' discomfort," according to the statement. Because the building was in a relatively isolated area on the base, Lt. Col. Hank McIntire said no other evacuations on base were necessary. Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu