Beijing: Eighty two people fell ill in two
separate incidents of industrial accidents in China.
Sixty two workers of the Wanbei Pharmaceutical Co.
Ltd in Suzhou City in eastern Anhui Province fell sick after
inhaling fumes from the highly toxic solid phosgene, also
known as triphosgene or BTC, that leaked from a laboratory
yesterday, Zhu Hai, an official in charge of the city
government's emergency response office said.
Zhu said 37 workers were still being treated in
hospital, of whom eight were in critical condition.
He said the provincial health bureau in Hefei had sent
a 10-member expert panel to join the rescue work, Xinhua
reported.
The cause of the accident is still under
investigation.
Solid phosgene is a white crystal used widely in the
biomedical industry. It is used in the production of pesticide
and herbicide, as well as antibiotics and pain-killers.
In another incident, 20 people fell sick due to
inhaling of carbon monoxide after exhaust gas from a boiler
seeped into their homes last night in northeast China's
Heilongjiang Province.
All the victims treated at hospitals in Qitaihe City
were in stable condition, a city government spokesman said.
After the gas leak was spotted at around 8 pm, the
local government sent officials to every home for safety
checks and to provide first-aid to the victims, the official
said.
The residents lived in an apartment building in
Taoshan District.
Bureau Report
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 07, 2011, 16:29