10 Hospitalized After Irvine Chemical Mishap

Ten people were hospitalized and dozens more evacuated Thursday after a chemical reaction at an Irvine business produced a noxious cloud that forced firefighters to cordon off a business complex near John Wayne Airport for more than three hours.

About 45 firefighters and hazardous-materials experts responded to Enthone Inc. in the 16000 block of Von Karman Avenue after employees reported that some sort of reaction occurred as they mixed a high-grade paint. The firm makes paint and coatings for circuit boards.

Three Enthone employees and seven people from nearby offices were taken to Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center with breathing problems and throat irritation, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Miller.

Six businesses in the commercial complex were evacuated after the 5:30 a.m. incident, and workers were turned away as they arrived for work.

Wearing protective gear, hazardous-materials crews moved a 600-pound vat of a powder chemical to a scrubbing room until it could be stabilized.

Miller said the chemical mixture could have caused an explosion because of the intense heat it had produced.

Carlos Cruz, 18, and Ricardo Fisher, 38, both Westminster residents, were packaging medical supplies at a neighboring business when firefighters evacuated the building.

“They said to get out, move it,” Fisher said. “I was a little scared because it could have come over to our building.”

When firefighters told the two men that it would be hours before they could return to work at University Medical Products USA Inc., they opted for an early breakfast at a Denny’s in Santa Ana.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” Cruz said. “So we didn’t want to be near.”