BREAKING NEWS: 2 ST. LOUIS HOSPITALS LOCKED-DOWN/QUARANTINED DUE TO CHEMICALLY EXPOSED PATIENTS

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Apparently, this really is not related to terrorism. It seems to have been an industrial accident.

From the National Terror Alert website:

Eight to ten people are hospitalized around the St. Louis area after being exposed to some type of hazardous chemical or material. At least two people are very critical condition.

St. Anthony’s Hospital in South County and DePaul Hospital in West County both shut down their emergency rooms when victims showed up with blue skin.

FOX 2 has learned that victims have also been transported to Barnes Jewish Hospital, Saint Louis University Hospital and at least one more person was located at Gateway Regional Hospital in Granite City, Illinois.

Illinois Emergency Management Agency crews are in East St. Louis at a business where they believe the hazardous material was located.

Police, fire and EMS are at a business in the 600 block of 20th Street, near State.

The East St. Louis City Manager says those who came in contact with the chemical were the people in danger and that city residents do not need to be worried and will not be evacuated.

Officials believe the hospitalized individuals are employees of the business who were mixing the chemicals. They apparently dumped the chemicals in a dumpster.

A police officer who arrived on the scene got within 75 feet of the chemical and had to be decontaminated.

DePaul Hospital’s emergency room is expected to be lockdown for at least three more hours.
Some of the victims of the chemical accident were taken to Depaul Health Center and at one point the entire hospital was on lockdown.

When this first happened everybody was scrambling, police, firefighters, emts, hospital staff patients. But by Saturday night the initial vicitms were being cared for and everyone was released, except for a small group of employees and patients who made contact with the original victims.

As everything unfolded emotions were high. Invesitgators say three people walked into the emergency room after being exposed to a substance called nitro aniline.

They had multiple symptoms, including severe dizziness, and of the three victims, two were in critical condition, the other stable.


Nitroaniline Applications: 4-Nitroaniline is a starting material for the synthesis of Para Red, the first azo dye.


Now, here's the story as we presented it last night, as information was first coming in.

From Reliapundit at the Astute Bloggers:


AP/NYT:

Two St. Louis-area hospital emergency rooms are on lockdown after the
arrival of patients who appeared to be exposed to chemicals.Authorities say
three people arrived by car at St. Anthony's Hospital with health problems
caused by chemical exposure, apparently at an industrial area in East St. Louis,
Ill.

Meanwhile, three other victims reportedly went to SSM DePaul Health
Center.Details of their conditions were not immediately known.

Authorities say the victims were exposed to a white powdery
substance.

About 20 people who were in the St. Anthony's ER were quarantined. People
were not being allowed to enter or leave the emergency room.

I HOPE THIS IS NOT AN WMD ATTACK... OR WMD ACCIDENT...

AND JUST INDUSTRIAL...I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT SOMALI WHO "COMMITTED SUICIDE" WITH A POUND OF CYANIDE...

Pastorius comment: I have a feeling it's a WMD work-accident. No names are being released. That, more than likely, tells us all we need to know.

UPDATE: AOW comments,

From St. Anthony's web site:an unknown chemical exposure
...

I don't find any information at the DePaul Health Center.
Odd.

UPDATE II: Sra. Scherzophrenic says,

Not terror related, not terror related, there's no place like Qom, there's no
place like Qom.

MORE UPDATES from Reliapundit:

UPDATE/FOX:

Hazmat crews are investigating separate incidents at two area hospitals. Sources
say several people came into contact with a chemical and drove themselves to
DePaul and St. Anthony’s hospitals. Both emergency rooms were placed on lockdown
and ER patients were quarantined.

There is no word yet on the origin of the
chemical or the incident that sent the victims to the hospital.

UPDATE #2: ST LOUIS DISPATCH:

The three people who entered St. Anthony's ER arrived together and had
respiratory problems, Silvernail said. Fire crews are trying to identify the
substance. About 20 who were exposed to the three are under quarantine.

At DePaul, where at least one individual exposed to the substance entered
the emergency department, the Pattonville Fire District has brought in its
portable decontamination unit to the hospital, said Jamie Newell, hospital
spokeswoman.

For a while, patients at St. Anthony's weren't allowed in or out. Brian
Ricker of St. Peters was visiting his brother-in-law when he was told not to
leave.

"We didn't know if it was a bomb. We didn't know if it was chemical. We
didn't know exactly what was going on," he said.

UPDATE #3: AFP:

Jamie Newell, a spokeswoman for SSM DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton,
Missouri near St. Louis, said three men who "came in contact with a dangerous
substance" were admitted to the facility Saturday afternoon and that the
emergency department was put on lockdown shortly threafter.

The men were in fair condition and recovering, she said.

"Fifteen employees
and one patient had to be decontaminated as a precaution... but we don't believe
that anybody else has been harmed," Newell told AFP.

She said officials had
identified the substance, and though they had not publicly named it Newell said
it was not viral -- meaning a widespread airborne contamination was not
likely.

Local television station KMOV reported that two patients were in critical
condition at SSM DePaul Health Center but Newell denied the report.

KMOV reported that the cases were likely linked to people who were exposed
to a substance while rooting through a dumpster in East St. Louis.

News of the exposures emerged as Republican presidential hopeful John
McCain was preparing to fly to St. Louis ahead of a rally on Sunday in nearby
O'Fallon, Missouri.

There is "no change of plans at this point" McCain spokeswoman Kimmie
Lipscomb told AFP.

STAY TUNED...

Pastorius comment: Don't worry, it's just three very vague men. This is not terror-related.

I repeat, this is not terror-related.

Like I said last week, I'm considering changing the name of this blog to NOT TERROR-RELATED.

Why?

Because it seems like everything we talk about here is NOT TERROR-RELATED.