Chlorine Gas Causes Wausau Paper Company Shut-Down in Brokaw

BROKAW, WI - Saturday, June 14, 2008 - Twenty-three Wausau Paper Company employees were treated and released from Wausau's Aspirus Hospital Friday morning after they were exposed to a chlorine gas that was created on accident by a delivery truck dumping it's chemical contents into the wrong vat. Phosphoric acid was accidently dumped into a sodium hyprochloride tank, creating a toxic combination.

Early Friday morning, over 150 Wausau Paper workers were forced to leave the Brokaw facility and hundreds of Village residents were forced to evacuate their homes until the air cleared of the toxic gas. The Brokaw mill was placed on emergency shutdown shortly after 8:00 yesterday morning.

Workers said they instantly smelled chlorine when they arrived at work. Officials said the chemical created is 30 times stronger than household bleach. Once chlorine gas enters the lungs, it sinks and displaces air, essentially reducing the victim's air capacity. The harder a victim breaths the more difficult it becomes to breath.

Area resident Bryan Gaulke, who lives right next to the mill, said he looked out his window and saw a bunch of people and thought they might be on strike but his dad told him that there was a chemical leak and everybody was to leave the area.

"Chlorine gas is very, it's very irritating," said Jeff Verdoorn, Vice President of Operations for Wausau Paper, "And we're just going to make sure the area is secure."

Because the gas is heavier than air, the highest concentration of the toxin was in the basement of the plant. As a safety precaution, at about 4 o'clock Friday afternoon, readings were taken throughout the mill. The readings showed that the air had already cleared. Mill workers labored for several hours getting the mill back up and running.

Chlorine gas is so caustic, equipment needed to be inspected and checked for damage. The machines are back up and running at the Wausau Paper Mill in Brokaw today.

The mill employs over 350 workers, however only 150 were at work at the time of the initial reaction.