Chemical Leak Makes 8 Longshoremen Ill

Eight longshoremen were hospitalized Saturday night and listed in fair to good condition after being exposed to a chemical leak on a ship docked at the Golden West Refinery terminal in Los Angeles Harbor.

The men were working on the outboard side of the Venture Star, a 550-foot ship that had just returned from the Far East, along with more than a dozen other longshoremen when they started complaining about burning eyes, headaches, dizziness and nausea, a Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman said.

Officials said the workers were apparently exposed to noxious fumes from a chemical loaded onto the ship. Officials said they were unsure what the chemical was.