DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706120510

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ERIKA REIF, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                      LENGTH:   40 lines

CHLORINE GAS LEAK INJURES 2 AT SEWAGE PLANT

Chlorine gas burst from a cut pipe during a routine procedure at a Newport News sewage plant Wednesday afternoon, slightly injuring two employees.

The leak prompted fire and police officials to evacuate some nearby businesses and a park.

A mislabeled valve caused the accident at the Boat Harbor Treatment Plant, where chlorine is used to disinfect water during the final phase of waste treatment, said plant safety manager Frank Spellman. The leak was not active, with only residual gas being released.

It occurred when a valve read ``open'' that was actually closed, leading two plant operators to believe a stretch of pipeline had been vacuumed free of chlorine. In transferring the old pipes to a new tank, they cut open a 1 1/4-inch metal pipe and were sprayed by 20 to 40 pounds of the poisonous gas.

``When chlorine under pressure like that comes out, it's like a geyser,'' Spellman said.

``It's a tremendous amount of gas, even if you only have 20 pounds of chlorine liquid. If they would have remained in the room, it would have been highly dangerous.''

Plant operators Brian Adams, 31, and Mike Griffith, 27, of Newport News followed emergency procedures and ran from the room. They closed outside ventilators to contain the gas, then sounded the alarm.

Plant Superintendent Zack Crowell said he was on duty when Griffith ran to his building, disoriented, gasping and vomiting. Adams also had trouble breathing but seemed fine after a few minutes of fresh air, Crowell said.

Both workers were taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where Adams was released and Griffith was to remain overnight for observation, company officials said.

The amount of gas released was about five times the level of exposure permitted per workday by Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, Spellman said. One part per million of chlorine is allowed, characterized as the volume of ``a shotglass in a swimming pool.'' KEYWORDS: HAZARDOUS MATERIAL

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