Toxic spill puts eight in hospital
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by Karen Miles • An incident involving Cheshire haulier PE Blake is to be investigated by the Marine Safety Agency after a toxic substance loss from one of its tankers put eight people in hospital.
Ferry company Sally Freight is expected to report this week to the Department of Transport on the spillage of up to a litre of benzyl bromide on one of its car decks.
The MSA, which is increasingly determined to be seen as a "tiger with teeth" and can bring its own prosecutions, will then decide whether to pursue any of its own inquiries into the incident.
Four Sally employees and four Port of Ramsgate staff were injured as they cleared up the toxic and corrosive substance shortly after the spillage last week. They were taken to hospital for treatment suffering from irritated eyes. The PE Blake vehicle left the ferry before the alarm could be raised. It was eventually stopped at Junction 9 of the M40, north-east of Oxford, where police let it continue because it had stopped leaking.
Mike Blake of Comberbachbased PE Blake says: "We're not worried at all. The drip was that minute that they (the police) let us carry on. We've been going 40 years and are a reputable company."