A security perimeter was established at the Alma hospital on Tuesday noon due to fear of an explosion.
On the scene, the agents of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) as well as the firefighters established a security perimeter and called in a team from Quebec specialized in hazardous materials. The team in question arrived around 3:15 p.m. and ran to evacuate the material in question.
As for the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) in Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean, patient visits and medical appointments were canceled for the day, but the emergency room remained open. No patient or employee had to be evacuated.
Wide deployment
According to Hugues Beaulieu, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec, no one was bothered by the product, which must be neutralized in the next few hours by explosives technicians. The substance will be destroyed in a quarry.
Mr. Beaulieu also confirmed in the middle of the afternoon that the substance in question was picric acid, otherwise known as trinitrophenol.
It was an employee who, once noticing the solid form of the product, contacted the emergency services.
According to Health Canada, picric acid is a of the most dangerous chemicals in use today
.
This substance which, once wet at 30%, becomes flammable is mainly used in the manufacture of explosives. It is also used as an intermediate for the manufacture of dyes and is used as a chemical reagent in laboratories.
At 12:45 p.m., there were 24 people in the emergency room, according to figures from the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
With information from Michel Gaudreau, Annie-Claude Brisson and Maxime Hébert-Lévesque
