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May 30, 1586 News 985-2431

Three to

Tie L SPI

A- CHEMICAL - spill at Dow Chemical’s West Coast
distribution centre in North. Vancouver sent three Canadian

ing.

CN spokesman Al Menard said
three’ employees were. taken to
Lions Gate Hospital at approx-

imately 4 a:m.,after inhaling fumes -

from a white vapor cloud that had

_, originated: from a holding tank on

the chemical company’s. property
located at 345 Bay Street near the
Lynnterm bulk loading docks.

The workers affected by the spill

National Railway workers to hospital early Thursday morn-

By TIMOTHY RENSHAW
News Reporter

complained of sore throats and eye
irritation.

All three were sent home after
being released from LGH, Menard

_said, and were advised to notify
‘family doctors if irritations con-

Classified 986-6222 Circulation 9§¢-1337 28 pages 25¢

spital

tinued or any y complications arose
from their exposure to the fumes.

Dow’s North Vancouver man-
ager Gordon Murphy said Thurs-
day the CN workers were pulling
empty chemical cars from the
company’s yard when they noticed
a white vapor cloud.

ACID FUMES

The fumes originated from a
hydrochloric acid holding tank
after the acid had leaked through a
corroded metal plug, Murphy said.

The leaking acid, he said, com-
bined with high humidity in the
morning air to form the gas cloud.

The amount spilled was ‘‘dif-
ficult to guess. But the liquid did
not even cover the bottom of the
10-foot square holding pit located
underneath the tank,’’ Murphy
said.

The Dow manager said the gas
would have caused more irritation
if more people had been in the
area, ‘‘but that would have been
the extent of the damage.” ©

Dow's 7%-acre North Van-

oliver’ yard has. been operating
since 1980. It daily handles ap-
proximately 24 tank cars (75,700
litres) containing chemicals such as
caustic soda and ethylene glycol.

Murphy said the yard’s
hydrochloric acid is used to neu-
tralize caustic soda. Dow stores
only about 1,000 gallons of the
acid at.its North Vancouver yard,
he added. ’

Murphy said Thursday morn-
ing’s spill was the first that had
occurred at the North Vancouver
yard.