30 October, 2008

Firefighters have contained a chemical spill which forced the evacuation of Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Workers at the rail yard on Aotea Quay reported the leak at 7.20pm yesterday and the area between the yard and stadium was closed to the public.
The spill was from one of eight 1000 litre containers of hydrogen peroxide mixed with peroxyacetic acid inside a 20-foot freight container.
The container had arrived from Mount Maunganui and was being loaded onto a truck for transport across the Cook Strait on the ferry.
Senior station officer Peter Burtonwood said 40 firefighters spent six hours, in chemical splash suits and breathing with air cylinders, removing the leaking container.
He said other items packed on top of the container had caused liquid to leak out and the substance let off fumes when it came into contact with organic material.
Firefighters unpacked the container and secured the leak.
The area was closed to the public and a number of people cleaning and setting up in the stadium were evacuated by police.
The workers who detected the leak were some distance away and no one was injured, Mr Burtonwood said.
The area was reopened around 1am.
The Department of Labour is investigating the incident.