Boehringer Ingelheim Evacuated After Chemical Release: Report

DANBURY - Boehringer Ingelheim accidentally released an experimental chemical in their research and development labs causing city and state fire crews and DEEP worker to respond according to a report on The News Times. Nobody was in the lab at the time of the explosion and no injuries were reported, the paper said.

The building was partially evacuated but Danbury's Assistant Fire Chief Mark Omasta said no chemicals were released into the air and that no Boehringer Ingelheim employees were in danger.

The company sent Patch the following release:

"An incident occurred in a lab onsite where a bottle over-pressurized, spraying a small quantity of chemicals into the lab. The lab was unoccupied at the time and no one was hurt. There is a second bottle, containing a smaller amount of the same material that has remained stable. The Danbury fire department, State Police and CT DEEP HAZMAT are onsite to evaluate the situation and help safely dispose of the second bottle. The situation is contained in the lab, and out of an abundance of caution we have partially evacuated the building. There is no danger to employees or the public.”

“The Danbury fire department, CT State Police and CT DEEP HAZMAT teams coordinated the safe removal and disposal of the remaining material responsible for this morning’s lab incident. The situation has been resolved. The lab is being cleaned and will be returned to full working order shortly. The rest of the building has been cleared for re-occupancy. There was no danger to employees, public safety or the local environment.”

Read the full report here.

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