Hong Kong fire service launches probe after toxic and flammable gas leak affects New Territories’ residential area
Hong Kong firefighters have launched an investigation into the cause of a leak of toxic and highly flammable gas in a suburban area of Yuen Long in the early hours of Sunday.
Nearby residents were advised to close their windows after the gas, believed to be from a liquid used in the manufacture of plastic, leaked from a storage tank on an industrial estate.
A government announcement at about 2.50am said anyone affected by the vapour and an unusual smell should “close their doors and windows and stay calm”.
Assistant Divisional Officer Lam Kwok-hung, of the department’s hazardous materials team, said the leak involved styrene monomer, a benzene-based liquid, and the cause was being investigated.
“Styrene monomer is mainly used to make plastics,” he said, “It can irritate the skin and eyes on contact. The danger is that it is highly flammable.”
But Lam highlighted that the concentration of the chemical at the scene was 1 parts per million (ppm), well below the 50 ppm level regarded as dangerous.
“The concentration at the scene was relatively safe,” he said.
The fire service was alerted to the leak after a resident of Tai Tseng Wai in the New Territories contacted emergency services just before 1am and said they could smell gas.
Firefighters raced to the scene and traced the source of the odour to a chemicals storage depot operated by the Hong Kong Petrochemical Company on the Yuen Long Industrial Estate.
White vapour was seen to be coming from one of the storage tanks on the site, which covers an area of about 200 metres by 300 metres.
A firefighting robot was deployed to spray water on the tank and a drone was launched to give crews a bird’s-eye view of the incident.
Two employees on the site evacuated the area after the leak was spotted and there were no reports of injuries.
