Chemical leak at factory in Istanbul industrial zone

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

A chemical leak was spotted Aug. 5 at a factory in the Tuzla Leather Organized Industrial Zone in Istanbul’s Anatolian-side district of Tuzla.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality recently made a statement declaring the incident had stemmed from a perforation on a tanker filled with nitric acid and affirmed efforts have continued to remove the chemical safely at a fast pace. 

This chemical has several negative side effects for humans, including irritation and harm to the eyes and respiratory passages, according to the statement. No causalities were reported in the statement.

Brownish smoke in the area has been seen since the incident, while work is being carried out to clean the air and to block the chemical leak.

Fire crews responding to the leak wore special uniforms designed to protect against dangerous or harmful chemicals. Along with the operation in this critical part of the factory, severe security measures were taken on the scene. Workers in the factory and other surrounding buildings were evacuated from the area. Police have continued to make verbal warnings for people to stay away from the area, and have blocked people from coming within one kilometer of the factory.