Bleach and Ice Machine Cleaner Create Chlorine Gas in South Carolina Nursing Home
When a member of the cleaning crew at a South Carolina nursing home mixed bleach with an ice machine cleaner, it created a deadly, toxic gas, exposing 60 of the facility’s residents and some staff members. The facility was evacuated, and the fire chief reported that 20 of the people exposed to the gas exhibited respiratory symptoms, but there were no serious effects.
Hazmat crews called to the facility went through the nursing home and cleared the entire wing where the gas exposure occurred. All those exposed to the gas went through a decontamination process and were transported to the hospital.
The event happened at 9 a.m., and by 3 p.m. the residents and staff were returned to the facility.
The director of the county’s emergency services commented about the help provided by fire departments, ambulances, and hazardous material teams from other counties, towns, and a Marine Air Corps Station: “Neither the county nor the town would have been able to handle this incident by themselves because of the number of patients.”
Other officials representing the responders had similar things to say about the support from surrounding towns and counties.
One resident’s family member commented that she was notified, but it was after the incident was over. She expressed concern about the need to have more safeguards in place to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to train staff about the dangers of combining certain cleaning elements and the risk to residents and staff of deadly toxic gas or harmful chemical exposures might be considered negligence and provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that the protocols for training maintenance, housekeeping, and other staff regarding the dangers of mixing cleaning chemicals are adequate and that cleaning chemicals are properly labeled and stored.
- Train staff about protocols to follow when using and storing cleaning chemicals, and the potential risks involved in their use.
- Periodically audit cleaning chemicals and processes being used by maintenance, housekeeping, and other staff to determine if the protocols for their use are followed, and if they are labeled and stored properly to prevent accidental spillage and hazardous chemical exposure.
