Hundreds of ill and frightened people flooded Fuzhou's Provincial Hospital in the eastern province of Fujian after a phosgene gas leak at 9:30 AM on Tuesday. The leak occurred at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FIRSM).

Phosgene is a major industrial chemical used to make plastics and pesticides. With cooling and pressure, it can be converted into a liquid, but when released it quickly turns into a gas. Phosgene was used extensively during World War One as a choking agent and was responsible for a vast majority of the deaths from chemical weapons.

But cases of phosgene poisoning are rare now and people do not know much about it, said Zhu Pengli, vice president of the Provincial Hospital where all but one of the affected workers were treated. The hospital has little experience with phosgene poisoning.

The first sick worker at FIRSM was a 34-year-old painter. He was sent to the Fuzhou Air Force Hospital in the afternoon, where he was pronounced dead.

Exposure to high concentrations of phosgene gas can cause pulmonary edema and death within two to six hours.

As the afternoon wore on, hundreds of employees began suffering from coughs, burning and watery eyes and shortness of breath. An anonymous FIRSM official said they were sent to the provincial hospital.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the hospital's emergency center had received 428 patients affected by the toxic gas. Sixty of them were hospitalized and another 100 were still waiting to be examined.

The hospital pulled more than 60 doctors from all its departments to deal with the flood of cases. Corridors and wards on the second, third and fourth floors were turned into emergency examination rooms.

At least 50 of the inpatients were diagnosed with respiratory problems. The others, less seriously injured, were hospitalized for 24-hour observation, said Zhu.

Exposure to phosgene can cause delayed effects, including heart failure and pulmonary edema, that may not be apparent for as much as 48 hours.
The hospital's chief radiologist, Du Ruibin, said that most of the patients appeared to be improving.

Nearly 2,000 people live in FIRSM's residential quarters. They were notified to report for a medical examination if they showed any symptoms, said an institute official.

FIRSM officials said the leak is now sealed and under control. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

(China.org.cn, China Daily June 17, 2004)