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The municipality took action and closed the station at 10:30 on Wednesday.
During Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, several employees reported symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Just under half of the 11-12 who were on duty Wednesday reported symptoms, emergency manager Dagrun Waag Linchausen told BA.
These are mild symptoms like headaches, nausea, and fatigue and confusion.
On Wednesday afternoon, he claims that between 12 and 14 employees were tested at the test station.
– All employees are fine. A blood sample has been taken to show if carbon dioxide has bound to the red blood cells. Everyone has good values, says Linchausen.
It is said that only one of the employees was confused.
– If it was due to carbon monoxide or because many things happened at the same time, we do not know. There was no serious confusion and the person is fine now, she says.
Emergency room manager Dagrun Waag Linchausen had a busy day on Wednesday when it was urgently decided that the test station in Spelhaugen had to close. Photo: SKJALG EKELAND
Car coal
He states that they will be in contact with everyone who has been working on the test station in the last few days. It is desirable that they also give a blood sample.
– The first reports of symptoms came in on Friday. Then we brought fewer cars. It worked, says Linchausen.
Also Tuesday night, employees are said to have had symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide probably comes from cars passing through the room for people to test themselves.
The municipality has been aware that carbon monoxide was a risk.
– Employees have worn gauges, which turned out to be carbon dioxide. We adjusted the gauges and yet they were knocked out. I’m glad the employees made a fuss, says Linchausen.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Symptoms
- Carbon monoxide poisoning offers highly variable and nonspecific symptoms.
- People who are exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping will not notice any discomfort. They will gradually go from a latent state to an unconscious state. If not detected, the poisoning could become so massive that they could die.
- People who are exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning when awake, with mild to moderate carbon monoxide poisoning, will notice headaches (most common), lethargy, nausea, and dizziness. They may also experience wheezing and chest pain. Over time, confusion and unconsciousness can increase.
Source: Norwegian Health Informatics (nhi.no)
The ventilation system did not work
A ventilation system in the garage goes on every day. On Wednesday it turns out that the plant stopped working.
– We haven’t noticed. I have received information that it is not so easy to detect if the ventilation is on or not. Now we have to do a new risk assessment, says the manager of the emergency room.
– Has the risk assessment been good enough in the past?
– It’s easy to be wise later. There has been no warning that the plant is not working, and that is something we have not been able to predict, he says.
When employees came to work Wednesday, the values on the carbon meters were a little too high.
– When the doors were opened, the values went down again. It could have been because then the doors were opened, Linchausen tells BA.
The emergency manager is hesitant to say anything about when the test station can be reopened.
A state meeting will be held on Wednesday afternoon, where a plan for Thursday and the way forward will be made.
– We will see if you have to enter the room to take the test or how we should do it. We have tried to find creative solutions for testing. We will find a solution, but we don’t know exactly what it will be yet.
Known exhaust odor
The Councilor for Health Beate Husa writes in an SMS that the situation that has arisen is very regrettable.
– Our goal now is to take care of the employees and find out what has happened. From what we’ve clarified, the vent has been out of order. That, of course, is not going to happen, and that is very unfortunate. The test station will not reopen until we are absolutely sure it is safe for employees and visitors, Husa writes.
When one of the BA journalists was at the test station Tuesday afternoon, all drivers in the queue were asked to turn off the engine whenever the car was stationary.
Two queues lead to the garage where the test takes place. There are two cars in the garage at the same time, and the test itself takes a couple of minutes. Each time a car finishes the test, all cars in the queue must start and move one place in the queue.
This, of course, leads to a lot of exhaust fumes in the area, and there must also be a bit of an odor inside the garage.
Exhaust fan stopped
– I have received information from the caretaker that he is an extractor who has been arrested. It has rebooted and started up again. A new engine was ordered installed on Friday, says manager Bente Haugsdal at Angarde, the company that owns the building in Spelhaugen where the test station has been located since the beginning of the month.
She says the municipality’s operations department had a ventilation company to investigate conditions before moving in. They must have also examined the extractor.
– They have rented the building in the state in which it is in the technical installation. There is little risk in running an installation in such an old building, Haugsdal says.
The old building doors, which are manual, will also be replaced by automatic doors that open and close themselves.
– They control how many doors are open. We have the impression that the doors will open and close according to entry and exit, says Haugsdal.
