Smelly chemical leak closes Baffin hospital temporarily

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Ten patients returned to the Baffin Regional Hospital this week after a formaldehyde gas leak on Oct. 2 closed the 30-bed building for 20 hours.

Fumes circulated through the building’s ventilation system after a routine cleaning procedure in the ground floor laboratory. The cleaning began at 8 p.m. Saturday. By 10 p.m., hospital staff were complaining of a pungent smell resembling oven cleaner throughout the two-floor hospital.

The cleaning procedure is not new and why the formaldehyde gas spread throughout the building is now under investigation, said Dr. Sandy Macdonald, the hospital’s medical director.

“Something went awry,” Macdonald said.

Health officials started the evacuation at midnight.

By 3 a.m. the next morning, all of the hospital’s 10 patients were relocated and the entire hospital was closed. Two patients were flown to Ottawa. The remaining eight patients were transported via ambulances to Iqaluit’s boarding home, private residences and a hotel.

Emergency services for walk-in patients were handled at Iqaluit’s public health building until 6 p.m on Oct. 3, when the hospital re-opened.

The evacuation was a precautionary measure, said Ed Picco, the government of Nunavut’s health minister.

“No staff or patients were in any danger as a result of the leak,” Picco said.

Human error had not been ruled out as of press-time.

The symptoms of prolonged formaldehyde exposure include itchy eyes and skin, and discomfort in breathing.

Health Canada flew up a palm-sized air pump Sunday morning.

Bruce Trotter, the GN’s environmental health officer, used the device, known as a Drager kit, to check formaldehyde levels throughout the hospital. The pump, like a syringe, draws air into a tube. If crystals in the tube turn pink, formaldehyde is present.

“The heaviest concentration was in the lab. The reading was just under two parts per million and the threshold limit for safety is two parts per million. The rest of the hospital showed no reaction,” Trotter said.

Health officials praised the hospital staff, City of Iqaluit’s emergency response crews and various airlines for assisting with the evacuation.

Unlike southern communities, Nunavut lacks back-up hospitals. In the event of a hospital closure or major disaster, numerous public safety concerns arise.

“The incident allowed us to test our emergency protocol during what was a relatively minor event and it went exceptionally well,” Picco said.

This is the first evacuation at BRH in the hospital’s 30-year history, Picco said.

When the hospital re-opened at 6 p.m. on Oct. 3, the temporary emergency ward had treated several outpatients with non-lifethreating medical complaints. Two such patients were transferred to BRH once it re-opened.

Formaldehyde in crystal form is heated and mixed with water to make a vaporous cleaning agent. In a liquid form, the chemical is often used to preserve animals and humans for research, teaching and burial purposes.