The balloon which was installed by the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) in manhole number nine to stop the overflowing poisonous sewage water exploded Tuesday, Sept 22, making the situation at the Mishref Waste-water Treatment Plant more dangerous and complicated, said Lieutenant Jamal Al-Bleheis, Chairman of Al-Mubarak Center for Harmful Substances.
“The air balloon explosion led to a huge and fast flow of water filled with dangerous chemical substances and poisonous gases on the way to Mishref station. However, the flow was partially contained by Manhole Six which was covered by a concrete stopper,” he added.
Without the existence of the concrete water blockage at manhole six the huge flow of water would have killed some of the workers who were at the Mishref Station and a vast leakage of lethal substances would have escalated the problem.

Due to this incident a large number of engineers along with a group from the Center of Harmful Substances and firemen, headed directly to the station to make sure that it was clear from any dangerous gases and solid substances and to analyze the current situation at the Station.
However, the leakage of poisonous gases from the station led to the fainting of one of the firemen for a few seconds after he found it hard to breathe. The firemen took first aid measures to help their colleague who finally woke up and was driven away from the location.
“We need to take further precautions so that the health of all those working at the station is not at any risk. Therefore, in order to dig out all the solid substances that are currently at the station due to the air balloon explosion we will firstly spray the place with chemical substances to decrease the amount of toxic gases coming out of it and endangering our health,” stated Al-Bleheis.

Arab times