Update: Attleboro chemical spill sends dozens to hospital
12:17 PM Mon, Sep 08, 2008 | Permalink
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ATTLEBORO -- One person was taken to a hospital with chemical burns and another 20 to 30 will go to hospitals as a precaution after a chemical incident -- characterized by at least one employee as an explosion -- at an Attleboro metals plant. The male is listed in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman. His name has not been released. The building at 49 Pearl St. houses Stern-Leach, maker of fabricated gold and silver alloy sheets, wires, tubing and coin blanks. The incident is believed to have happened on the third floor, where a cyanide derivative was being used as part of the process of metal fabrication, according to Attleboro Police Capt. David Proia, who was at the scene. It led to the evacuation of some 200 employees. Cyanide is a potentially deadly chemical that can exist in various forms, including crystal or gas, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Employee Sergio Ortiz, 43, working nearby on the third floor, described hearing a deep explosion and seeing white smoke. "Everyone started yelling, 'Get out,' " he said. The Attleboro Fire Department took one person to Rhode Island Hospital with chemical burns, a fire department official said shortly after the incident. Another 20 to 30 people were to be taken to hospitals as a precaution after they undergo decontamination, Proia said. In the street across from the three-story brick building, rescue workers set up a large yellow tent, where affected employees washed off. Proia said the workers affected by "what prelimarily appears to be a chemical reaction." He said workers had been combining two chemicals, one of them a derivative of cyanide. It's a process that occurs regularly without problems, Proia said. He characterized it as an accident. In manufacturing, cyanide is used to make paper, textiles, and plastics. Cyanide salts are used in metallurgy for electroplating, metal cleaning, and removing gold from its ore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "Everything is under control now," Proia said from the scene this morning. Soon after hearing the loud boom, Ortiz said he heard an alarm, indicating that workers should evacuate. Ortiz and fellow employee Ken Vanvoorhis, 34, of Plainville, Mass., described the evacuation as orderly. Some 200 employees were in the building, according to a police estimate. Vanvoorhis, in only his second week on the job, was working on the second floor. He said he saw as many as three people with what appeared to be a white powdery substance on them. "It made me pretty nervous," he said. Earlier this morning, a large group of workers was milling around a parking lot outside the building, but workers have since been told to go home. Before leaving, workers were scanned with a metal detector, a process employees must go through every day when leaving the building. Proia said the air inside and around the building will be tested. Stern-Leach, part of The Cookson Group, is the market leader of fabricated gold and silver alloys, according to its Web site. According to The Journal's archives, a buildup of hydrogen gas triggered an explosion that shattered about 40 windows of the 49 Pearl St. building on March, 17, 2000. It forced the evacuation of 300 employees for about an hour. The stress of the 2000 incident sent five people to the hospital, two by ambulance, although no one was physically injured, Deputy Fire Chief George Bellavance said. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Tom Mooney.and projo.com staff writer Brandie Jefferson The explosion was attributed to a leak in the duct system where the gas feeds into a 1,200-degree furnace that warms the 200,000-square-foot building. The fire chief said at the time that repairs would prevent the buildup from occurring in the future, and were to include pressure sensors in the duct work that would sound an alarm and a small flame that would burn any gas that did escape. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site, cyanide is a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in various forms. It can be a colorless gas, such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN) or cyanogen chloride (CNCl), or a crystal form such as sodium cyanide (NaCN) or potassium cyanide (KCN). Cyanide sometimes is described as having a "bitter almond" smell, but it does not always give off an odor, and not everyone can detect this odor. The extent of poisoning caused by cyanide depends on the amount of cyanide a person is exposed to, the route of exposure, and the length of time that a person is exposed, according to the CDC. Breathing cyanide gas causes the most harm, but ingesting cyanide can be toxic as well. Cyanide gas is most dangerous in enclosed places where the gas will be trapped. Cyanide gas evaporates and disperses quickly in open spaces, making it less harmful outdoors. The gas is less dense than air, so it will rise. Cyanide prevents the cells of the body from using oxygen. When this happens, the cells die. Cyanide is more harmful to the heart and brain than to other organs because the heart and brain use a lot of oxygen. People exposed to a small amount of cyanide by breathing it, absorbing it through their skin, or eating foods that contain it may have some or all of the following symptoms within minutes, according to the CDC: Exposure to a large amount of cyanide by any route may cause these other health effects as well: Survivors of serious cyanide poisoning may develop heart and brain damage. Cyanide poisoning is treated with specific antidotes and supportive medical care in a hospital setting. The most important thing is for victims to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. For more information, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "Facts about Cyanide" page. 
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Not to be too alarmist but cyanide is lethal.
Ingestion of very small amounts is lethal.
Cyanide gas is what was used in gas chambers to kill people.
The list of symptoms above is a bit misleading. If the exposure is VERY small treatment may work. The antidotes (like Cyanokit)are all but futile and often deadly themselves.
All those things listed might happen to you, before you check out. Stay away from the stuff.
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