Gas Leak in Hospital Forces Evacuation
A gas leak forced the evacuation Tuesday of a small area at AMI Tarzana Regional Medical Center, authorities said.
An alarm in a room next to the hospital’s surgical area alerted officials that ethylene oxide, a gas used for sterilizing surgical equipment, had escaped from two tanks shortly after 3 p.m., said Lois Green, an assistant hospital administrator.
Four employees were evacuated from the area as an automatic exhaust system began clearing the fumes. There were no patients nearby, Green said.
A Los Angeles Fire Department hazardous materials team was summoned to turn off the tanks, Battalion Chief Don Mello said. He said the leak occurred in a device used to connect the 50-gallon tanks and feed the gas into a pipeline.
No one was injured in the incident.
Green said ethylene oxide is 12% ethyl oxide and 88% Freon.
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