3 Nov 2012

21 treated after gas leak at Whanganui factory

6:15 am on 3 November 2012

Twenty-one people have been taken to hospital after inhaling gas following a chemical spill at a Whanganui tanning factory.

Two are critically ill but stable with respiratory problems and have been flown to Wellington Hospital.

Workers were still at the factory when the chemical spill occurred at Tasman Tanning in Castlecliff just before 5pm on Friday.

Those affected by the gas are factory staff, two fire officers and an ambulance crew member. Workers used the factory's own respiratory equipment to help them.

Seven ambulances were called to the scene and three had to make a second trip to ferry the injured to hospital.

Whanganui District Health Board spokeswoman Sue Campion says those treated had breathed in hydrogen sulphide.

Seventeen people have been discharged from Whanganui Hospital, while two will be kept in overnight for observation.

Inspector Ian Harris, shift commander at the police communications centre in Wellington, says it was fortunate that the prevailing wind blew the fumes towards the river and away from built-up areas, as hydrogen sulphide can have lethal consequences.

Other staff at the Tod Street factory, which employs 200 people, will be monitored for any reaction to the gas. The building has been sealed off.