Toxic Fumes at Unocal Hospitalize 5 Workers
Five workers were hospitalized after they inhaled toxic hydrogen sulfide fumes released at a Unocal refinery in Wilmington recently.
The fumes escaped March 16 when sulfuric acid overflowed from a tank and mixed with water, Unocal spokesman Scott Carroll said.
Unocal officials knew something was wrong when workers detected odors at the site, Carroll said.
The five men, in their 40s and 50s, were released from local hospitals Friday.
Los Angeles City Fire Department sent 16 firefighters and two ambulances to the refinery on Anaheim Street after vapors formed when the acid leaked into a water-treatment drainage system, Carroll said.
About 30 to 40 workers were moved to another area of the refinery when the overflow occurred, he said.
Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said the vapors escaped through a faulty vent. But no hydrogen sulfide was found outside the 424-acre refinery, according to Unocal and the Fire Department.
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