ANTWERP - Six dockers were taken to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. They probably inhaled quay 1742 of the Deurganck dock into a dangerous chemical that had started to leak. 23 others requested a medical check-up and were then able to resume work.
"The dockers smelt something abnormal on Tuesday at a container at the terminal and complained of odor nuisance," confirms Pieter Hofkens, MPET spokesperson. "The six men got sick and were dizzy, so they were preventively transferred to the hospital." The six people were in good health on Tuesday evening.
"We immediately set a perimeter and brought everyone to safety as soon as the odor nuisance was noticeable," Hofkens said. "That perimeter was maintained until we were sure that everything was safe for everyone."
The chemical released during the leak would be ethyl acrylate. This is a substance that is used with polymers. However, that info could not be confirmed. The emergency services arrived and the leaking container was placed in a drip tray. Operations at the terminal were resumed in the afternoon.
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