Gas leak sickens more than 200 in China
1 hr 47 mins ago
BEIJING – An ammonia gas leak at a pharmaceutical factory in northern China sickened more than 200 people Wednesday, state media reported.
An initial investigation showed the leak occurred after an old pipe burst when workers failed to properly operate equipment as they unloaded more than 30 tons of ammonia from a truck at the Chifeng Pharmaceutical Factory in Chifeng city in Inner Mongolia, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Xinhua did not say how the ammonia leaked or how much escaped.
All residents within one mile (two kilometers) downwind of the plant were evacuated and 202 people exhibiting symptoms such as headaches, lightheadedness and respiratory problems were taken away in ambulances. Of those, 21 people were hospitalized, the report said.
Calls to the Chifeng city police bureau rang unanswered Wednesday.
Authorities sealed off the leak and were testing the city's water supply for any ammonia contamination, Xinhua said.
Workplace accidents are common in China, where thousands die every year in part because of lax enforcement of safety rules and poor worker training.
More than 2,600 people were sickened and 59 hospitalized in Chifeng a week ago after heavy rains caused contaminants to seep into the city's water supply.
1 hr 47 mins ago
BEIJING – An ammonia gas leak at a pharmaceutical factory in northern China sickened more than 200 people Wednesday, state media reported.
An initial investigation showed the leak occurred after an old pipe burst when workers failed to properly operate equipment as they unloaded more than 30 tons of ammonia from a truck at the Chifeng Pharmaceutical Factory in Chifeng city in Inner Mongolia, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Xinhua did not say how the ammonia leaked or how much escaped.
All residents within one mile (two kilometers) downwind of the plant were evacuated and 202 people exhibiting symptoms such as headaches, lightheadedness and respiratory problems were taken away in ambulances. Of those, 21 people were hospitalized, the report said.
Calls to the Chifeng city police bureau rang unanswered Wednesday.
Authorities sealed off the leak and were testing the city's water supply for any ammonia contamination, Xinhua said.
Workplace accidents are common in China, where thousands die every year in part because of lax enforcement of safety rules and poor worker training.
More than 2,600 people were sickened and 59 hospitalized in Chifeng a week ago after heavy rains caused contaminants to seep into the city's water supply.
