44 Injured by Chemical Leak at Douglas Plant
A leak in a sulfur dioxide storage tank at the sprawling Douglas Aircraft complex on Lakewood Boulevard in Long Beach caused injuries to 44 workers Thursday and forced a three-hour evacuation of up to 2,000 others, company and fire officials said.
Fourteen of the injured--all complaining of respiratory problems, eye irritation or dizziness--were taken to hospitals and most were treated and released. The rest were treated at the company infirmary, a Douglas spokesman said.
Sulfur dioxide, used at Douglas to treat waste water from a metal finishing process, vaporizes when it comes into contact with air and in high concentrations can cause lung irritation.
Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Hank Zavaleta said it took more than two hours for county hazardous waste experts to cap the leak in the 8-foot-long, 150-gallon tank.
Investigators could find no signs of negligence or wrongdoing and left it to Douglas to determine how the leak occurred, Zavaleta said.
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