A breaking news story from St. Louis via a Fox News affiliate about an incident that has sent people to two local emergency rooms. Two St. Louis Hospitals Locked Down For Hazardous Material Incident…
Hazmat crews are investigating separate incidents at two area hospitals. Sources say several people came into contact with a chemical and drove themselves to DePaul and St. Anthony’s hospitals. Both emergency rooms were placed on lockdown and ER patients were quarantined.There is no word yet on the origin of the chemical or the incident that sent the victims to the hospital.
Fox News TV stated that the victims are presenting with “blue skin” and “difficulties breathing”.
An evolving story rarely gets it right but this is interesting from both the “what” of what has caused this as well as the response to an incident whose cause has yet to be identified. Thus far it appears erring on the side of caution is prudently being implemented.
Update from STLtoday:
Emergency room closed at St. Anthony’s
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCHAuthorities this afternoon closed emergency rooms at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in South County and at DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton after several people entered the hospitals after being exposed to a white powdery substance, according to health and fire officials.
The powder is believed to be a hazardous material that the individulals were exposed to in East St. Louis, said Jim Silvernail, chief of the Mehlville Fire Protection District.
The three people who entered St. Anthony’s ER arrived together and had respiratory problems, Silvernail said. Fire crews are trying to identify the substance. About 20 who were exposed to the three are under quarantine. .
At DePaul, where at least one individual exposed to the substance entered the emergency department, the Pattonville Fire District has brought in its portable decontamination unit to the hospital, said Jamie Newell, hospital spokeswoman.
For a while, patients at St. Anthony’s weren’t allowed in or out. Brian Ricker of St. Peters was visiting his brother-in-law when he was told not to leave. “We didn’t know if it was a bomb. We didn’t know if it was chemical. We didn’t know exactly what was going on,” he said.
Other hospitals in the area have been contacted and told to watch for similar symptoms. East St. Louis fire officials have a hazmat team at 8th and Market streets, where they’re investigating a chemical incident. The incident is related to the four who are hospitalized, a dispatcher said.
Update #2
Source: South County Times
Access To St. Anthony’s Medical Center Emergency Department Restricted
Access to St. Anthony’s Medical Center Emergency Department, 10010 Kennerly Road, has been restricted until further notice. The medical center issued the following statement on Saturday:
“Earlier this afternoon, Aug. 30, several patients came to St. Anthony’s Emergency Department from a site in East St. Louis, Ill. with an unknown chemical exposure.
As a precaution for our patients, visitors and employees, access to the entire hospital campus initially was restricted. At this time, 6:15 p.m., the only area of the hospital that remains restricted is the Emergency Department, which will remain closed until the nature and extent of the exposure is determined.
We thank our patients, visitors and employees for their cooperation and patience in this situation.”
Update #3
From the Fox News affiliate that originally posted the story…
Two Dead, Several Hospitals Locked Down After Hazmat Exposure in East St. Louis
Last Edited: Saturday, 30 Aug 2008, 9:35 PM CDTBy Roche Madden, Shirley Washington,
(KTVI – myFOXstl.com) –
St. Anthony’s hospital is no longer on lockdown but officials are discouraging people from visiting.
DePaul Hospital’s emergency room is expected to be lockdown for at least three more hours.
A police officer who arrived on the scene got within 75 feet of the chemical and had to be decontaminated.
Officials believe the hospitalized individuals are employees of the business who were mixing the chemicals. They apparently dumped the chemicals in a dumpster.
Eight to ten people are hospitalized around the St. Louis area after being exposed to some type of hazardous chemical or material. At least two people are very critical condition.
St. Anthony’s Hospital in South County and DePaul Hospital in West County both shut down their emergency rooms when victims showed up with blue skin.
FOX 2 has learned that victims have also been transported to Barnes Jewish Hospital, Saint Louis University Hospital and at least one more person was located at Gateway Regional Hospital in Granite City, Illinois.
Illinois Emergency Management Agency crews are in East St. Louis at a business where they believe the hazardous material was located.
Police, fire and EMS are at a business in the 600 block of 20th Street, near State.
Update # 4 from bnd.com
Posted on Sun, Aug. 31, 2008
6 people sickened at plant; 2 Missouri hospitals under quarantineFrom staff and wire reports
At least six people were sickened after exposure to a chemical at a plant on Saturday, and emergency rooms at two St. Louis County hospitals were quarantined after those people sought treatment.
Authorities were “99 percent” certain the chemical was nitroaniline, a highly toxic material that can cause serious breathing problems and even death.
The hospital workers who examined the patients had to be decontaminated as a precaution and the emergency rooms at St. Anthony’s Medical Center and SSM DePaul Health Center remained shut down late Saturday.
East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks said the source of the chemical is from a business in the 600 block of North 20th Street.
Rocco Goins, director of the city’s Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, said the light-colored substance was confined to a bucket.
Parks said it has not been confirmed that the people injured by the chemical are employees of the plant.
“We feel the situation is properly secured,” Parks said late Saturday night.
A representative of the company could not be reached for comment.
Mary Jo Wich, spokeswoman for St. Anthony’s, said three patients were treated at the ER, which will remain closed until it is decontaminated. Two of the patients are in satisfactory condition and one is in fair condition.
Jamie Newell, a spokeswoman for SSM DePaul Health Center, said the hospital also treated three patients exposed to the chemical. They are in fair condition.
Wich and Newell said investigators have determined the type of chemical that affected the patients but the type was not officially released.
Wich did not know when the St. Anthony’s ER would reopen.
Newell said the DePaul ER was expected to reopen late Saturday night.
Greg Carda, the chief executive officer at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, said decontamination precautions were taken at the hospital’s ER, but the hospital did not receive any of the patients exposed to the chemical. He said the ER was able to remain open.
The names of the victims have not been released.
East St. Louis emergency service, public works, police and fire crews responded to the scene. They were assisted by the East Side Health Department, St. Clair County, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, FBI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Nitroaniline is commonly used in the synthesis of dyes, antioxidants, pharmaceuticals and gasoline, in gum inhibitors, poultry medicines, and as a corrosion inhibitor. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Web site says it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, respiratory arrest and other symptoms and ailments.
Parks asked the public to stay away from the scene.
“Not because it’s dangerous but because individuals involved need room and space to do their work.”
News-Democrat reporter Carolyn P. Smith contributed information to this story.
