LOCAL : Toxic Solution Spills in Hospital

Two technicians were examined for injuries and areas of the Sherman Oaks Community Hospital were evacuated this morning after a gallon of a toxic chemical spilled in a laboratory near the emergency room, officials said.

A Los Angeles Fire Department hazardous materials unit was called to the hospital in the 4900 block of Van Nuys Boulevard at 8:18 a.m., authorities said. Fire Department spokesman Pat Marek said the laboratory where the spill occurred, the emergency room and the same area of the floor above were evacuated.

Johna Rogovin, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said a gallon-sized container of tetrahydrofuran, a chemical used for setting pathology tissue specimens for study, was accidentally knocked off a counter in the first-floor laboratory.

Several technicians were evacuated from the laboratory and two men, whose names were unavailable, were being examined at the hospital for possible injuries due to inhalation of the vapors, Rogovin said.