Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
The accidental discharge on Friday of an old and outdated fire extinguisher at Elgin Fire Station 1, 550 Summit St., left the station unusable over the weekend as hazardous materials crews cleaned the station, officials said.
Exposure to the material poses health risks to humans. According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, the human symptoms of “acute (short-term) inhalation and oral exposures to carbon tetrachloride include headache, weakness, lethargy, nausea and vomiting. Acute exposures to higher levels and chronic (long-term) inhalation or oral exposure to carbon tetrachloride produces liver and kidney damage in humans.
“Studies in animals have shown that ingestion of carbon tetrachloride increases the risk of liver cancer,” the EPA website states.
“The station was evacuated, and a hazardous materials crew has been in there for the last couple of days. We are hoping to get back in there tomorrow,” McMahan said Sunday.
The firefighter who released the chemical and two other individuals were taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital for treatment, he said. All were released and returned to full duty, he said.
The hazmat crew finished cleanup of the site and fire officials were waiting for a third-party air-quality test to be administered and for the station to pass before reopening it, McMahan said.
Stations 5 and 6 have been covering Station 1’s area during the cleanup, he said.
thanks Dan
