The employee, Richard Hacker was exposed to chemicals in a trailer.
SPRINGFIELD – An employee of Astro Chemicals Inc. on Memorial Drive was taken to Baystate Medical Center for evaluation early Friday afternoon after he was exposed to chemicals that may have ruptured from one or more bags inside a truck trailer.
Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger said firefighters were summoned to the facility at 126 Memorial Drive shortly after noon.
Leger said the bags contained chemicals in tablet form and one more may have ruptured, perhaps due to heat. The employee, Richard Hacker, detected a strong chemical odor as he opened the trailer door and felt ill afterwards.
The department’s Office of Emergency Preparedness remained on scene mid-afternoon as they awaited recommendations from the state Department of Environmental Protection as how to best deal with the problem.
Leger stressed that no spill has occurred and that the chemicals do not pose any danger to the public or emergency personnel.
Chemicals onboard the trailer include sodium metabisulfite, sodium thiosulfate and sodium sulfite, Leger said.