Alfa house safe after chemical leak

At lunchtime May 12, a strong chemical smell was detected in the Alfa building at Tomtebodavägen 23 in Solna. The building, housing around 400 researchers and personnel, was evacuated.

A few persons were exposed to the chemical and felt ill and dizzy. They were taken care of by the ambulance personnel outside the building and were at good mood under the circumstances. They later went to the hospital for further tests.

A few hours after the evacuation the fire brigade declared that the building was safe to enter again.

“They did not find any chemical leakage so we don’t know the source of the leak yet or what substance it was.” Said Fredrik Sterky, Site Manager at SciLifeLab in Stockholm. “We will of course follow up this incident and take the necessary actions so that it won’t happen again.”

He also points out that some information about the incident that was reported by the media was not entirely correct.

“We do not know if the cause of the incident was toluene, it was an early rumor that seems to have been picked up by many. Some media also reported that the chemical was thrown in a wastebasket and then transported around in the building. This is a theory but at present we do not have any evidence for this.” Said Fredrik Sterky.