Worker dies after Spokane chlorine leak accident

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — One of the people hospitalized after a chlorine leak at a Spokane recycling company has died.

The Spokesman-Review reports that a spokesman for Pacific Steel and Recycling says the man died Saturday night. His name is not being released until family members have been notified.

The other three workers hospitalized after the accident Wednesday have been released from the hospital. More than a dozen people became sick from the chlorine, with most of them reporting respiratory issues.

The gas, which was released in a yellow plume, came from a big cylinder that Pacific workers were crushing for scrap metal.

Nearly 100 firefighters and paramedics responded Wednesday to Pacific Steel, where hazmat crews hosed off workers who had stripped to their underwear.