Man Dies Hours After Chemical Exposure

A Saratoga Springs man in his early 30s died Tuesday hours after ingesting a hazardous substance, and two dozen people at the health clinic where he went for treatment were quarantined, officials said.

Intermountain Healthcare spokeswoman Janet Frank said the man, who police identified as Maurico Layaco, apparently ingested selenomethionine at his job. She said early reports indicated that Layaco inhaled the substance but she could not confirm that.

“We know that he was at work in Payson, where the exposure occurred,” Frank said.

Police say Layaco's worked at Sabinsa Corporation.

Several hazmat crews in protective gear responded Layaco's home near 130 West and Daybreak Lane in Saratoga Springs Tuesday afternoon.

Frank said Layaco went home, changed his clothes, then went to the nearby InstaCare clinic because he wasn't feeling well. He later died at a hospital or on the way.

Police said in addition to the selenomethionine, Layaco also had calcium citrate in his system. However, doctors believe it was the selenomethionine that killed him.

KSL News spoke with a neighbor who told us his wife was actually inside of that house babysitting Layaco's children.

“I understood that he was working with some experimental cancer drug and got contaminated,” neighbor David Marshall said. “They told my wife and neighbor that they are contaminated and can't leave the house for now.”

In addition to Layaco's house, hazmat crews have quarantined the InstaCare clinic where the man sought help.

Frank says the clinic was shut down and 24 people there were quarantined. She says eight of them were being decontaminated in a tent on the clinic site. She says none complained of feeling ill.

via ksl.com – Police ID Saratoga Springs man who died following chemical exposure.

30 Quarantined In Possible Anthrax Attack – Pomona

30 quarantined due to suspicious powder A suspicious package, containing an unidentified, yellow powder, opened Thursday at a college in Pomona left one student exposed and 30 other people quarantined for their protection as hazardous materials teams and the FBI investigated the possible attack.

A “possible anthrax in an envelope” call was reported at 2:07 p.m. to the Student Services office at Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second St., said Inspector Mathew Levesque of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“One student was exposed but is showing no symptoms at this time,” Levesque said. “And 30 other people have been quarantined to defend them from an exposure.”

Source