Workers had to be decontaminated before going to hospital

Three workers were sent to hospital after feeling nauseous aboard a ship at Fraser Surrey Docks. (Photo: Shane Mackichan)

SURREY — Three workers at Fraser Surrey Docks were decontamined and sent to hospital Wednesday morning after becoming nauseous while in a ship hold.

Surrey Fire Department Battalion Chief Kevin Beenham said “it was not necessarily a hazmat incident” but that the workers felt ill after being exposed to some “biological” material around 10:30 a.m.

“As a precaution before they went to hospital we decontaminated them so they wouldn’t contaminate the ambulance or ambulance staff,” Beenham told the Now-Leader.

Asked what the potential hazardous material could have been, he said the equipment was shipped from overseas and “could’ve been something as benign as mold.”

The three workers taken to hospital are expected to be fine.

“We were told they were nauseous and when we got there, they were out in the fresh air and were all improving,” he noted. “They were taken to hospital for observation.”

He said the company is having their industrial hygienist evaluate, and that Transport Canada or WorkSafeBC would likely investigate.

amy.reid@surreynowleader.com