Four tanks containing 800 liters of acrylamide break open at
warehouse in Ben Gurion Airport, seven hours after being unloaded from
El Al flight. Man, 65, lightly injured.
The Israel
Airports Authority (IAA) invoked special protocol on Saturday after four
tanks containing 800 liters of a dangerous substance broke open and
began to leak, some seven hours after being unloaded from an El Al cargo
plane.
A 65-year-old man who experienced a burning sensation in his eyes was taken to the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.
The
tanks had been stored at the Maman group's Cargo Terminal warehouses
according to procedure, Ynet learned. An unknown chemical reaction led
the containers to break open and the acrylamide substance to leak.
The
area has been evacuated and experts on dangerous substances from Petah
Tikva's fire station were dispatched to the site. Firefighters are
trying to prevent leaks from the other containers, 10 of which were
unloaded from the plane.
El Al's spokesman said that the incident
occurred seven hours after a Boeing 747-400 which departed from
Belgium landed at the Ben Gurion Airport. "A malfunction occurred while
the cargo was being unloaded," the statement said. "No damage was
caused to the plane which departed for another cargo flight."
The
IAA said that it had invoked the hazardous substances protocol and that
the incident is under the responsibility of the Maman Group. "The
airport continues regular operations," the statement said.
Prof.
Amnon Albeck of the Bar Ilan University said that acrylamide is toxic
but has no immediate fatal effect. He said that the substance can cause
irritation in the eye or the upper airway and that prolonged and intense
exposure to it could prove lethal, but not in small amounts.
Earlier this week, a wide-scale drill simulating a crash landing and plane inflammation was held at the Ben Gurion Airport.
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