13 people treated in Scottish Gas chemical incident

Three people were taken to hospital for observation after the incident in Edinburgh on Friday.

The premises of Scottish Gas in Edinburgh was evacuated on Friday afternoon after a suspected chemical incident which saw three people admitted to hospital and ten others needing treatment.

A number of staff had reportedly been complaining of illness and headaches during the day before the emergency services were called at 17:15 on September 21.

By 17:30 a full evacuation of the 1,150 capacity building and it’s immediate area had been ordered.

Crews with breathing apparatus remained on the scene until around 20:30 on Friday evening, before declaring the atmosphere safe.

An investigation is underway, but the building opened as normal on Monday morning.

It is understood that all of those affected have now returned home.

Police Scotland said in statement: “We received a report of a possible chemical incident within a Scottish Gas building in Waterfront Avenue, Edinburgh, around 5.15pm today.

“We are working alongside our partners in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to establish the cause of this incident.”

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In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

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