16 Hospitalized After Incident at Massachusetts Coating Facility
Need to Know
- Sixteen people were transported to hospitals after employees at a Hudson, Massachusetts, industrial facility reported illness, dizziness and eye irritation on Aug. 13.
- Hudson fire officials said a chemical process may have contributed to the illnesses; Boston 25 identified the facility as Precision Coating.
- Precision Coating's Hudson operation specializes in fluoropolymer and PTFE coatings, but officials have not identified the chemical or process involved in the incident.
Sixteen people were transported to area hospitals Aug. 13 following an incident at an industrial business in Hudson, Massachusetts, where fire officials said a chemical process may have contributed to employee illnesses.
The Hudson Fire Department said it responded to a business on Parmenter Road at 8:47 a.m. after employees activated a fire alarm. Firefighters encountered employees reporting serious illness, dizziness, eye irritation and other symptoms and declared a mass-casualty incident. Eight ambulances transported 16 patients to three hospitals.
Firefighters entered the building to conduct atmospheric monitoring and said they believe a chemical process contributed to the illnesses. Hudson Fire Chief Jamie Desautels requested assistance from a state hazardous-materials team equipped with specialized monitoring equipment. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Special Operations team and fire departments from surrounding communities also assisted.
The fire department did not identify the business in its release. Boston 25 News identified the facility as Precision Coating on Parmenter Road. Precision Coating's company facility information lists its headquarters at 51 Parmenter Road in Hudson and describes the site as its central operation for fluoropolymer coatings, including PTFE coating application, formulation development and manufacturing.
Precision Coating is part of Integer Medical Coatings. The Hudson operation provides coating and surface-treatment services for medical-device applications.
The specific chemical or process involved has not been publicly identified in the Hudson Fire Department release, and officials did not provide information on the conditions of the hospitalized employees. PCI did not locate a public statement from Precision Coating or Integer addressing the incident as of Aug. 14.
Source note: The incident details and 8:47 a.m. response time come from the Hudson Fire Department. The department did not name the company; the identification of Precision Coating is attributed to Boston 25 News and is consistent with Precision Coating's published Hudson address. PCI is using the official fire department time.
PCI covers additional developments involving industrial coating and finishing operations.
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