Jan. 11--Two workers at a Manchester Township plant temporarily became ill Wednesday morning after inhaling a silica-type powder, leading to a four-hour hazardous-materials incident.
The township's Alert Fire Co. and the county's haz-mat team were called to Engel Machinery Inc., at 3740 Board Road, about 7:35 a.m., Alert Fire Chief Joe Madzelan said.
Workers had found a powdery substance on top of an unopened shipping box, and two of the workers became ill, he said.
"They noticed an odor, and a couple employees developed respiratory problems," Madzelan said.
The workers were treated at York Hospital and released, the chief said.
John Evans, human-resources and operations manager for Engel, said both employees were back to work Wednesday afternoon.
"The guys feel fine," he said.
It took a haz-mat crew several hours to respond, set up equipment, obtain a sample and then test that sample, according to Madzelan.
They determined the coarse powder to be a silicate material that became airborne and was inhaled by the two workers, he said. It's similar to the silica gel crystals found in small packets inside boxes of new shoes.
Evans said it's also the same material people put in their swimming-pool filters, and can also be used as a pesticide.
"What it's designed to do is remove moisture from the air," Madzelan said. "So the nature of the product is that it's a respiratory irritant."
But the substance is not considered dangerous if a few precautions are taken, he said.
"As long as you're wearing a dust mask and gloves, it can be handled or swept up," Madzelan said, which is what plant workers did after the haz-mat team identified the substance.
Crews cleared the scene about 11:30 a.m., he said.
Evans said a dozen workers were evacuated from the shop portion of Engel's operation, but office workers were unaffected.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it was business as usual at the facility, he said.
According to Evans, one of the affected workers saw the powder on top of a shipping crate and took the crate outside to clean it off.
As he was cleaning off the powder, it became airborne and he and another worker inhaled it, Evans said.
"They were stuffed up ... their chests tightened, and one fellow had a nosebleed," he said. "That, to me, was a pretty severe reaction. ... We never had anything like it."
Evans said the powder likely spilled onto the shipping crate in transit.
Engel Machinery Inc. is an Austrian-owned company that sells plastic injection molding machines, according to Evans. The York facility primarily handles parts, sales and service, but also maintains a small shop to retrofit machinery, he said.
-- Reach Elizabeth Evans at [email protected], 505-5429 or twitter.com/ydcrimetime.
Copyright 2012 - The York Dispatch, Pa.
