Two workers hospitalised after chlorine gas spill at Somersby pool chemical maker Fluidra
A Somersby industrial road was blanketed in a white gas and two people were hospitalised after a ‘reaction’ triggered a massive chlorine leak at a pool chemical manufacturer.
Central Coast
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Two workers were taken to hospital and dozens evacuated after a reaction went wrong at a Somersby pool chemical manufacturing facility.
Emergency services were called to Fluidra factory on Pile Rd shortly after 10am.
Workers at the site told the Express Advocate a “reaction in one of the hopper tanks” caused the chemical spill which spewed chlorine gas into the air.
Two staff members were taken to Gosford Hospital in a stable condition after they experienced breathing difficulties.
Police closed both ends of Pile Rd as firefighters from the Hazardous Materials Unit worked to contain the spill and clear the air.
Spanish-listed multinational Fluidra purchased the Somersby manufacturing site from formed family-owned pool products maker Price Chemicals in 2015.
Staff from a supplements manufacturer across the road said they too became inundated with the smell of chlorine when it came in under the door.
At the height of the spill the area and adjacent factories were clouded in a white fog.
Police and SafeWork NSW will investigate the cause of the incident.