Several Sickened During Hazmat Situation At South Jersey Business
HAMMONTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Several people have been sickened after a hazmat situation at a business in South Jersey Wednesday.
The incident happened shortly before noon at a business called Home Solutions in the 1000 block of Grand Street in Hammonton.
Chopper 3 HD was over the scene where it showed dozens of workers standing outside the building after it was evacuated.
Officials say vapor with a freon-like chemical was in the building.
"We couldn't tell what it was, we thought maybe we smelled a slight chemical smell so we got everyone out of the building," said compliance officer Melanie Sponholz.
Managers evacuated about 90 employees from Home Solutions Corporate Headquarters after several people complained of headaches and nausea.
According to investigators, two people were medivaced to the hospital, six went via ambulance. Forty-seven others were assessed, of which 39 have been released, according to officials.
"They were complaining of a burning sensation in their respiratory system. I don't know whether those two individuals were closest to the area affected, but because of the seriousness of that nature any respiratory injuries are taken to a trauma center," said Hammonton Police Lt. Kevin Friel.
CBS 3 Eyewitness News is told Atlantic County hazmat experts found a caustic chemical in the air and discovered evidence of a refrigerant leak in the duct work of the air conditioning system.
"Either an R-22 or some other fluoromethane refrigerant that's used, possibly from the HVAC system," said Lt. Friel.
By early afternoon Home Solutions sent all their employees home for the rest of the day as HVAC technicians worked on locating the source of the possible leak and then fixing it. Compliance officer Melanie Sponholz didn't feel sick but saw lots of people who did.
"We're concerned about our fellow employees and we're waiting to hear they're testing the HVAC systems now that everybody is out of the building so we're waiting to hear if they can determine what the problem was," she said.
The situation remains under investigation.
No word on the patients' conditions.
