Originally published Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 12:00 AM
$1.1 million award to 3 ferry workers for gas exposure
Three Washington State Ferries workers have been awarded more than $1.1 million because of exposure to chlorine gas on the ferry Tacoma in 2004.
Three Washington State Ferries workers have been awarded more than $1.1 million because of exposure to chlorine gas on the ferry Tacoma in 2004.
According to the men's attorney, the ferry system allowed the absorbent powder Hi 'N Dri and bleach on the ferries without investigating the potential harm from combinations of the chemical products during normal cleaning operations. He said when the workers were cleaning a restroom, the products created a toxic cloud of chlorine gas, causing coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing that will require lifetime medications.
King County Superior Court Judge Glenna Hall found that "the chlorine gas which resulted from the mixture of Hi 'N Dri and bleach constituted an unseaworthy condition."
She said "all three of the crew members who were exposed to the chlorine developed significant and permanent occupational asthma" and ruled that "the storage and combination of Hi 'N Dri and bleach was neither reasonably fit for its intended use, nor a safe method of operation."
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
A American Table, Chairs and Bench - $275
ATV POLARIS TRAILBLAZER - $1800
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
Give yourself a treat and visit Watson Kennedy's Holiday Open Houses
More minding the store
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- Two-week opening at Midori Inc.
- Sur La Table November sale
- Seattle Premium Outlets Thanksgiving Weekend ...
- 5th Annual Urban Craft Uprising
editors' picks
More shopping guides- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
249 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
166 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
161 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
131 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
123 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
91 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
63 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
58 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
58 - Ranking the Pac
53
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list

