Scores sickened by gas cloud
2006-05-11 07:24
Cape Town - Three factories were evacuated and at least 165 people taken to
hospital after an ammonia cloud polluted the industrial area in Lansdowne,
Cape Town, on Wednesday.
Firemen and paramedics rushed to the area at about 07:30 after a could of
ammonia gas was released into the air at an ice cream factory.
The ammonia gas leaked through a broken seal at one of the factory's cooling
chambers.
Members of metro police cordoned off the streets surrounding the factory,
and coughing, gasping factory workers gathered some distance away. At least
three ambulances transported patients to hospitals, while firemen and
technicians battled to stop the leakage.
The workers initially congregated on an open field near the ice cream
factory, but as the gas spread, affecting more people, they moved further
down the street to escape the fumes.
A clothing factory across the street from the ice cream factory was also
evacuated. An emergency official there said colleagues complained about
burning throats and irritated eyes.
"The people got sick and some of them were taken to hospital by ambulance,"
she said.
Dr Shaheem de Vries from metro emergency services said the patients were
taken by ambulance to four hospitals.
"Mostly their breathing was affected to a greater or lesser degree. We had
to give them oxygen and stabilise their breathing. In such an incident
patients usually become short of breath and their eyes start watering."
"About 80 pupils from the neighbouring schools and a number of other
affected people were also taken to hospital."
Wilfred Solomons, manager of the City of Cape Town's disaster management
department, said 165 people were admitted to hospital by Wednesday
afternoon.
Solomons said the fact that there was no wind minimised the impact of the
gas leak.
"It had the potential to have a much greater impact on the environment,"
said Solomons.
He said the cause of the leak will be investigated.
Faizulla Harnerkar, one of the ice cream factory's directors, said ammonia
is used as a cooling agent in the freezers.
"It is commonly used in industrial cooling chambers such as ours where a
temperature of -30°C has to be maintained. Technicians have fixed the
leak, but we are as yet unable to say how much ammonia had been leaked,"
said Harnerkar.
"Ammonia can be deadly if inhaled in large amounts, but no serious cases
were reported on Wednesday," said De Vries.
"Especially asthma sufferers or people with lung diseases usually suffer
after such a leakage. When I arrived at the scene, a huge amonia cloud was
hanging in the air and the smell was very strong. As the gas distributed
into the air and became diluted, the situation improved. There was no wind
to speak of and the gas didn't spread over a big area," he said.