Local News in Brief : 9 Hospitalized After Leak
Nine employees were taken to local hospitals as a precautionary measure after a 55-gallon drum containing a strong irritant--sodium hydrosulfite--sprung a leak at a downtown Los Angeles industrial laundry Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighters evacuated about 60 people from the DWC laundry and adjacent buildings and cordoned off about a half mile of Washington Boulevard, creating a massive traffic jam for homeward-bound commuters attempting to reach nearby on-ramps to the Santa Monica Freeway.
The cause of the leak at the plant, in the 1100 block of East Washington Boulevard, was under investigation. The chemical--a reducing agent--is used in the treatment of textiles.
The people taken to White Memorial, East Los Angeles Doctors and Good Samaritan hospitals complained of skin and eye irritation, fire officials said.
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