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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Patients injured by chlorine gas doing better

Fairchild Air Force Base personnel gather on the scene of a chlorine gas leak Wednesday at Pacific Steel and Recycling in Spokane. (Dan Pelle)
One man hospitalized when he was exposed to chlorine gas Wednesday at a recycling company in east Spokane has been released from the hospital and three others still in intensive care are doing better. “All three have dramatically improved in the last 24 hours,” said Mike Tracy, spokesman for Pacific Steel and Recycling. The men were sickened when a cylinder was crushed to recycle it, and it had chlorine gas inside it - unbeknownst to the workers. The state Department of Labor & Industries is investigating the incident. Tracy said Pacific’s Spokane location is expected to reopen Monday morning. Of the remaining patients, one is at Deaconess Hospital and two are at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Deaconess listed its patient in critical condition Friday afternoon. Sacred Heart declined to provide patient conditions.