23 Stricken in Chlorine Gas Leak

Twenty-three employees of a Burbank metal-finishing plant were treated for chlorine inhalation Monday after a mechanical failure at an adjacent business released a cloud of the yellowish gas.

Sixteen employees of Barron Anodizing and Paint, 1121 Isabel St., were treated and released from hospitals and seven were treated by paramedics at the scene, said Milford Johnson, battalion chief of the Burbank Fire Department. None was seriously injured.

The gas was released at 8:50 a.m. from Tracey Electronics, 1117 Isabel St., when a machine used to etch electronic circuit boards began mixing improper amounts of sodium chlorate and muriatic acid, said Tracey President Don Tothe. The mixture produced chlorine gas, Tothe said.

A venting system pumped the gas through a rooftop outlet. It flowed down the side of the building, across a driveway and through open windows and doors at Barron. The company’s 60 employees scrambled through the front door.

‘Coughing Pretty Bad’

“Everybody was crawling out of there like they were being fumigated,” said Todd Williams, 24, a truck driver. “I immediately grabbed a mask because I know how harmful chlorine is. A few of the people inside came out coughing pretty bad.”

The stricken workers suffered from dizziness, shortness of breath and nausea.

Sixteen were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank Community Hospital and Glendale Adventist Hospital, and were released later in the day in satisfactory condition. No Tracey employees were affected.

By 1 p.m., after an inspection by officials from Cal-OSHA and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, workers began to return to the Barron and Tracey plants. Several Barron employees were sent home.

Tracey Electronics will receive a citation for public nuisance, said Peter Torres, a hazardous material specialist for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. The citation does not carry a fine.

Tothe said Monday’s accident was the first chemical leak in the 20 years he has been with the company. “We didn’t even know anything had happened until our people went outside,” Tothe said.