Homeowners evacuated after chemical leak
Posted: Jul 06, 2015 9:37 PM EST
Posted By: Sarah Fili
sfili@klkntv.com
Several Lincoln families had to be evacuated Monday morning, after dangerous chemicals seeped up into their homes. Lincoln Fire and Rescue were called to a home near 11th and Rose on reports of a strong chemical smell.
"The readings in one of the houses was significantly high, higher than expected levels or safe levels," Captain Brian Giles, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, said.
Homeowners in the area were worried about their health.
"It smelled like paint and it was very bad because I’m pregnant then we’ve got six other children in the house, it was just bad for us to be sitting in there, smelling it," Keavisha Mosley, a resident, said.
They had reason to be concerned, not only does it smell like rotten eggs, or paint thinner, but it can have several side effects.
"Styrene can cause eye irritation and nasal membrane, maybe some runny nose, some lung irritation," Harry Heafer, an Environmental Health Specialist who works for the city, said.
The cause was a routine sewer sanitation and re-lining happening about a block away that sent the Styrene fumes up homeowner’s pipes.
"When they inject steam into the sewer line and in that steam is a chemical called styrene,” Giles said.
"Our assumption is it pushed a bunch of this odor through the sewer line, on down stream of where they were working," Heafer said.
Lincoln Fire and Rescue opened windows in the affected homes and set fans up to help aerate them and residents were allowed back inside early Monday afternoon.
"They kept on going into the house airing it out until like the sink dropped down until like zero or two or five percent,” Mosley said.
The health department says one of the easiest ways to prevent any sewer smell or gasses from coming up your drain is by pouring four or five cups of water into showers or drains that aren't used that often. That leaves water in the pipe and prevents the smell from coming up.
No one was hurt or hospitalized in Monday’s incident and everyone affected was able to get back in their homes.
sfili@klkntv.com
Several Lincoln families had to be evacuated Monday morning, after dangerous chemicals seeped up into their homes. Lincoln Fire and Rescue were called to a home near 11th and Rose on reports of a strong chemical smell.
"The readings in one of the houses was significantly high, higher than expected levels or safe levels," Captain Brian Giles, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, said.
Homeowners in the area were worried about their health.
"It smelled like paint and it was very bad because I’m pregnant then we’ve got six other children in the house, it was just bad for us to be sitting in there, smelling it," Keavisha Mosley, a resident, said.
They had reason to be concerned, not only does it smell like rotten eggs, or paint thinner, but it can have several side effects.
"Styrene can cause eye irritation and nasal membrane, maybe some runny nose, some lung irritation," Harry Heafer, an Environmental Health Specialist who works for the city, said.
The cause was a routine sewer sanitation and re-lining happening about a block away that sent the Styrene fumes up homeowner’s pipes.
"When they inject steam into the sewer line and in that steam is a chemical called styrene,” Giles said.
"Our assumption is it pushed a bunch of this odor through the sewer line, on down stream of where they were working," Heafer said.
Lincoln Fire and Rescue opened windows in the affected homes and set fans up to help aerate them and residents were allowed back inside early Monday afternoon.
"They kept on going into the house airing it out until like the sink dropped down until like zero or two or five percent,” Mosley said.
The health department says one of the easiest ways to prevent any sewer smell or gasses from coming up your drain is by pouring four or five cups of water into showers or drains that aren't used that often. That leaves water in the pipe and prevents the smell from coming up.
No one was hurt or hospitalized in Monday’s incident and everyone affected was able to get back in their homes.