Chemical Spill at Washington Port Contained

A Tacoma Fire Department hazmat crew is cleaning up a chemical spill that was discovered as workers were unloading a cargo container from a ship at the Port of Tacoma.

Fire Department spokesman Joe Meinecke says firefighters were called just before 4 a.m. Tuesday to the ship Hyundai Oakland where the leak was discovered as the container was being unloaded at the Washington United terminal.

The chemical is a solvent used in the printing industry called chlorobenzotrifluoride. Because it’s flammable, about 20 people on the ship were asked to stay away. Medics checked two workers who complained of eye irritation and they are OK.

The chemical leaked from a 55-gallon drum. Some spilled in the ship and some in the cargo container, which is now at the terminal.