ATWATER VILLAGE—The Los Angeles City Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Squad was deployed to a hazardous materials incident at 4541 W Electronics Place on Thursday, March 17. The location was a Huntsman plant; a global chemicals company.
At 8:38 a.m., the LAFD arrived on the scene in response to an automatic fire alarm being activated at the facility. Upon arrival, firefighters observed a visible vapor cloud and gathered additional information from the reporting party – they immediately upgraded the response to a Hazardous Materials incident, the LAFD released in a statement.
Once the Hazardous Materials Squad arrived on the scene, specialized gas meters were used to determine if there was a hazard threatening the air. No such threat or immediate concern was detected.
LAFD officials discovered that the chemical product involved was “Reninfusion 8610,” a one-component epoxy system that requires heating. According to the LAFD, the vessel used to heat up the product overheated and triggered the pressure release valve set in place as a safety feature.
There were no medical complaints made from the approximately 200 personnel that self-evacuated from the building complex prior to LAFD’s arrival. Some local residents noticed a foul smelling odor in the air and were ordered to shelter in place or voluntarily evacuate south of the incident.
The Los Angeles Fire Department recommends that anyone experiencing any medical distress from the incident to please seek medical advice through their health care provider.
This incident is still under investigation by LA County Health Hazardous Materials and South Coast Air Quality Management District.
