For the second day in a row, there has been a possible chemical leak reported in a laboratory on Aberdeen Proving Ground in the Edgewood area.
Tuesday morning saw what is being described as a minor chemical leak in a chemical and biological research and development lab at APG.
Although Wednesday?s leak was said to be unrelated to Tuesday?s, information provided by the APG Public Affairs Office seems to suggest that the cause of both leaks may be a “power surge” at the two separate facilities.
“They?re not unusual,” said George Mercer of the APG Public Affairs Office. “I?ve just never heard of two occurring two days in a row.”
Although Mercer was not specific about the sequence of events that led to Wednesday?s leak, he did say that an apparent power surge of some type at approximately 2 p.m. in the lab affected the containment units that house chemical agents being tested at the facility. Three technicians occupied the lab, which is a research and development facility that focuses on defense against chemical and biological agents.
Mercer said once the lab technicians realized the containment within the lab had been breached, they shut down and secured the lab, called 911, and then moved to a decontamination facility.
“There is not any indication of chemical exposure,” Mercer said of those exposed in Wednesday?s and Tuesday?s incidents.
Although some involved in Tuesday?s accident asked to be taken to the hospital, the three lab techs involved in Wednesday’s leak were taken to a clinic on post and are under observation, Mercer said.
Fifteen employees involved in Tuesday?s incident were initially taken to an on-site clinic, but two asked for further medical attention and were taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. They were observed overnight and released from the hospital Wednesday, Mercer said.
“There was no medical diagnosis other than that they?re OK,” Mercer said. One returned to work Wednesday, while the other took the day off, he said.
Examiner staff writer Patti Rosenberg contributed to this report.
