Cause Sought for Sweden Gas Leak That Injured 20

Investigators on Friday began probing the cause of a gas leak at a chemical plant that spewed sulfuric acid gas over the town of Karlskoga, injuring 20 people and forcing the evacuation of 300.

A cloud of the corrosive gas spread out over the town of 36,000 Thursday night and hovered over a square-mile area for most of the night before brisk morning winds blew it away.

The 300 people who were evacuated from the area returned to their homes in the morning, but schools and many offices remained closed in the town 150 miles west of Stockholm.

Doctors said 20 people were treated with injections of cortisone and doses of oxygen at an emergency clinic set up at a school and several were referred to the local hospital’s emergency room with heavy coughing and chest pains. All but one were discharged.

The sulfuric acid gas, known by its makers as Oleum, can cause permanent corrosion of the lungs and breathing passages, but long-term effects can be averted by heavy doses of cortisone.

The plant is operated by Bofors, Sweden’s major weapons and munitions manufacturer. It is named after Alfred Nobel, the Swedish millionaire inventor of dynamite whose 1895 will established the prestigious Nobel prizes.