St. Boniface chemical spill prompts hazmat response
CBC News
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 3:58 PM CT
Last Updated: Apr 18, 2012 7:19 PM CT
Emergency crews stand near a tent set up outside St. Boniface General Hospital on Wednesday afternoon. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)
A Winnipeg hazardous materials team spent much of Wednesday afternoon cleaning up a small formaldehyde spill at St. Boniface General Hospital.
Hazmat units were called to the hospital at around 2:45 p.m. CT, after staff in the shipping and receiving area noticed a three-litre container of formaldehyde was leaking, according to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
The receiving area was evacuated and nearby air vents were blocked due to fumes from the formaldehyde leak, but patients are not at risk, the health authority said in a release.
The hospital blocked all "non-essential foot and vehicle traffic" around the receiving area so the hazmat teams could clean up the spill.
As of 7 p.m., the hazmat teams have completed their work, but hospital staff are still cleaning up the area.
The receiving area is expected to remain closed until Thursday morning, according to a health authority spokesperson.
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