13 Exposed To Sodium Selenite At Hazmat Incident In Merrimack

MERRIMACK, NH — Thirteen employees of local device company were exposed to acid during a hazmat incident Tuesday, according to the Merrimack Fire Department. At 3:15 p.m., fire and rescue teams were sent to Spraying Systems Inc. for a report that employees were exposed to sodium selenite while dismantling equipment at the facility on the Daniel Webster Highway. Sodium selenite is an inorganic sodium-based acid that is acutely toxic and can cause irritation, according to reports online.

The building was being evacuated, according to Fire Marshal John Manuele, as teams arrived.

All of the company's employees were accounted for but due to the size of the incident, many employees with varying degrees of exposure, a regional hazmat response team was requested to assist.

"After assessing the evacuated employees, it was determined that there were at least 3 exposures and 10 possible exposure patients that would need to be transported," Manuele said. "Mass casualty incident procedures were initiated calling more ambulances to the scene. Merrimack Ambulance 3 as well as ambulances from Manchester, Amherst and Nashua arrived and after assessing their condition and decontaminating those 13 patients were transported to several Nashua Hospitals."

The regional team set up a heated tent for employees to remove their contaminated clothing before entering ambulances to be taken to hospitals.

A team of firefighters accessed the room where the spill occurred and contained the area. The rest of the building was checked and cleared, Manuele said. Firefighters cleared the incident around 7:30 p.m.

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