16 crewmembers hospitalized from gas leak on Lake Ontario

Phosphine gas leaked from the cargo holds into the living quarters aboard a German ship Tuesday night, sending 16 crewmembers to a Canadian hospital.

The workers were medivacced from the Liberian-flagged Hermann Schoening  onto two tug boats and two Zodiacs about four miles offshore in Lake Erie near the city of St. Catherines.

Phosphine is used to fumigate insects in a variety of products including stored tobacco, processed foods and animal feeds. Phosphine pellets had been used during a fumigation of the vessel a few days earlier after taking on a load of grain in Milwaukee. The gas formed when the pellets somehow became wet, said the federal inspection agency Transport Canada.

A full scale investigation is being conducted and if any violations are discovered, the vessel could be fined. Most of the sick crewmembers have been released from the hospital and returned to the ship. Before the vessel is to be allowed to depart Montreal strict safety conditions must be met. They include submission of a plan to permanently seal the place where the leakage occurred and periodic inspecting and monitoring of gas levels.

Source: St. Catherines Standard