5 exposed to chemical leak at water-treatment plant in Yorba Linda

A chemical leak at a Yorba Linda water-treatment plant that exposed five employees to hydrogen sulfide was contained, with all of them declining to go to the hospital.

Firefighters and a hazmat team responded to the plant in the 3900 block of Valley View Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Thursday and discovered the employees were exposed to a chemical used in the water-treatment process, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

A hazmat team entered the plant and confirmed a “very small quantity of the chemical that leaked is contained and no longer leaking,” the OCFA tweeted about 11 p.m. Thursday. “Incident isolated to the water-treatment plant only.”

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, hydrogen sulfide gas can cause a wide range of health effects. Workers are primarily exposed to hydrogen sulfide by breathing it. The effects depend on how much hydrogen sulfide is breathed in and for how long. Exposure to very high concentrations can quickly lead to death.