Unknown substance injures several DHL employees in Bavaria

In the southern German state of Bavaria , an initially unknown substance leaked from a distribution center of the logistics company DHL. As a result, 13 parcel service employees at the Langenzenn site near Nuremberg were slightly injured. Eight of them were taken to the hospital for dermatological examinations.

A total of 35 employees came into contact with the substance. Many of them complained of itching and skin irritation. The Bavarian police stated: "There was no danger to the public."

Decontamination with adhesive tape instead of a shower

To avoid endangering other people in the hospital, the affected people were treated directly in the ambulance. The substance was removed from their clothing using adhesive tape, explains Frank Stegmann, spokesperson for the fire departments in the Fürth district.

The fire department set up a tent for this so-called dry decontamination. An originally planned decontamination shower was scrapped for safety reasons—they wanted to prevent any potential further spread of the substance.

Distribution center evacuated as a precaution

The DHL distribution center was evacuated as a precaution and remains closed for the time being. According to the fire department, residues of the substance were discovered on several packages.

What caused the skin reactions among the Langenzenn DHL employees? The fire department now believes a relatively harmless solvent was responsible. According to DHL, Phoron was the cause of the skin irritation. According to the fire department, it is a crystalline acetone-based solvent.

The substance matches the symptoms complained of by affected DHL employees, such as skin and eye irritation, according to District Fire Chief Stegmann. The fire department has since left. DHL announced that it expects delivery service to resume as usual starting Saturday. The exact location of the leakage cannot be reconstructed.

pgr/AR/rb (dpa, BR)