FOUR WORKERS AND AN EMS PERSON SENT TO HOSPITAL AFTER TOLUENE DIISOCYANATE CHEMICAL LEAK AT TEMPLE CUSHION MANUFACTURER IN TEMPLE, TEXAS
January 27, 2015
TEMPLE, TEXAS --
Four people were sent to the hospital after a chemical leak Tuesday morning at
E R Carpenter in Temple.
Thomas
Pechal with the Temple Fire Department says they received a call shortly after
6 a.m. from a Carpenter employee having difficulty breathing. When crews
arrived they discovered a large leak of the liquid chemical, Toluene
Diisocyanate.
Three
employees and a Scott and White EMT were decontaminated by the fire
department's HAZMAT crew and sent to the hospital only as a precaution. A
Temple Firefighter also came in contact with the chemical, but he was treated
on the scene.
E R Carpenter manufactures a variety of polyurethane foam and polyester fiber comfort cushions, and Pechal says this is a chemical is used in the foam pouring process. It is a chemical they use on a daily basis, but it is unclear how the leak started.
As of 8:30 a.m. the leak had been contained but employees were still held back from the area. A private company is being called to clean up the spill.
E R Carpenter manufactures a variety of polyurethane foam and polyester fiber comfort cushions, and Pechal says this is a chemical is used in the foam pouring process. It is a chemical they use on a daily basis, but it is unclear how the leak started.
As of 8:30 a.m. the leak had been contained but employees were still held back from the area. A private company is being called to clean up the spill.