Location: Kirkby, Liverpool
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) attended an incident on Woodward Road, Kirkby, on the morning of Thursday 12 November.
Crews were on scene at 10.25am with three fire engines attending.
This was in response to an unknown chemical linked to animal feed entering the process of a recycling centre causing a dust plume to fill the recycling centre.
All persons were evacuated and accounted for, an outer cordon was established, and MFRS crews liaised with onsite staff.
19 members of staff are confirmed to be suffering mild irritation. Onsite personnel are managing decontamination of staff with the use of eye wash. North West Ambulance Service(NWAS) are on scene and providing further assessments once the affected staff have been fully decontaminated.
A team of two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus from the MFRS HAZMAT team entered the affected area to undertake a visual assessment and carry out field testing, working with partner agencies to eliminate any risk or hazard to the public and ensure a safe working environment.
A further JESIP meeting took place between Fire, Police, and Ambulance, and it was decided that Merseyside Police were not required at this incident.
NWAS continued to assess the affected members of staff, with four being conveyed to hospital for further assessment as a precautionary measure.
Fire Service personnel left the scene at 1.17pm.