On Friday, an area of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale was evacuated by authorities due to a small chemical leak from shipping container according to Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Reports say that nearly 65 people in the immediate area around the spill, at 4300 McIntosh Road, were evacuated and a hazmat team from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue is suited up and ready to make entry into the container.
BSO Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said a port employee noticed a sodium cyanide tank leaking.
Sodium cyanide is poisonous and may be fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jachles said the crews determined the substance that was in the tank that had just returned from the Dominican Republic was not a hazardous chemical. Authorities suspect the leak may be liquid leftover from when the tank was cleaned out after transporting sodium cyanide.
Source: WPLG Local 10
