Ecologists beat an alarm as the sulfur dioxide concentrations reached dangerous proportions after the fire broke out in the territory of an industrial zone in Shymkent, Kazinform News Agency reports.
As earlier reported, gaseous technical flake sulphur caught fire on July 27 at 11:35 a.m. at the KMG Supple Company LTD. It burnt more than 1,200 square meters destroying 5,000 bags full of gaseous technical flake sulphur and a Daewoo Jentra car. The firefighters battled the fire almost for 24 hours.
The locals started complaining of a pungent odor that made them feel unwell after the fire.
The ecology department of the city took air samples at distances of 500, 800, and 1,000 meters from the fire site. The analysis claimed that sulfur dioxide concentrations are 40 times higher than permissible levels and carbonous oxide is 1.3 times above the standards.
10 people, including a firefighter, were injured in the fire. Two of them were rushed to the hospital with burns and poisoning symptoms. The rest received treatment at the site.
434 people, including 233 children, were immediately evacuated from the neighboring Shanyrak residential area to safer places. All of them returned home in the evening.
An investigation is launched to determine the cause of the fire.
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