Potentially toxic substances polluted the environment on Friday evening in Schweizerhalle, near Basel, spreading a strong, nauseating odor. The police recommend closing doors and windows, despite the low level of pollution measured.
“Measurements carried out on site did not reveal high values outside the factory,” indicates the cantonal police of Basel-Landschaft in a press release published during the night from Friday to Saturday.
The type of substance is still not precisely known. And as a strong foul odor has spread in the area, it is still recommended to close doors and windows and turn off ventilation and air conditioning systems, police said. Intervention forces are still on site, in large numbers.
The leak occurred around 9:00 p.m. in a factory of the company specializing in chemicals Cabb, the latter said in a press release in the evening. Intervention forces immediately rushed to the scene and managed to bring the situation under control, she said.
The Alertswiss website of the Federal Office for Civil Protection issued the alert at 10 p.m., saying it expected a spread of toxic substances. The alert also applies to the city of Basel and its surroundings.
Several leaks
Contacted in the evening by the Keystone-ATS news agency, police indicated that a cloud had been detected, but that there was no fire. The alert was given as a preventative measure and there were no injuries, she said.
Chemical leaks have repeatedly been noted in buildings in the region in recent years. The largest chemical disaster occurred in 1986, when a fire broke out in a warehouse of the Sandoz chemical company.
More than 1,000 tons of various chemicals then burned, of which 20 tons flowed with the firefighting water into the Rhine, which took on a red color. The next day, only dead fish could be found in the river.
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
