Fumes Sicken Two Kentucky Trash Collectors; Hazmat Called In To Investigate Scene
The city's hazardous materials unit spent more than five hours searching for the products that made the two workers physically weak and ill, including scouring a neighborhood and searching the garbage truck.
Both workers, whom the city did not identify, were treated and released from the University of Kentucky Medical Center and were in good condition yesterday evening, said Charles Martin, the acting commissioner of Public Works.
Lexington fire Battalion Chief Joe Kinney said last night that officials were still not certain what the two inhaled, but that a broken ammonia-cleaner container and a muriatic acid container were found in the garbage truck.
Kinney said those chemicals, often used to clean off rough surfaces such as bricks, most likely created the gas.
The garbage collectors were exposed to the chemical mist about 9 a.m. yesterday while emptying Herbies, the official city garbage containers, on Charles Avenue off Georgetown Street.
The two finished their route, but started feeling sick on their way back to the garbage transfer station at 1505 Old Frankfort Pike.
By the time they reached the garbage dump, they were extremely sick and notified emergency officials, said Major Tommy Blythe of the Lexington fire department.
The garbage they picked up yesterday remained in the truck.
An inspection of the Charles Avenue area turned up nothing unusual, Blythe said.
"Folks in solid waste face safety issues people don't think about," said Claude Hammond, the city's public information supervisor.
He said anyone could put garbage collectors in this same type of danger by throwing away common cleaning items under their kitchen sink.
There are no laws against throwing those types of containers into the trash, Kinney said.
Officials from the city's Division of Waste Management said they will work with the public safety department to determine how to prevent a similar incident.
"Our main concern is the well-being of our employees," Martin said.
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