Three in hospital, two Chesterpass Road buildings evacuated in Milpara as herbicide spills at Elders Albany

Two buildings were evacuated and three people taken to hospital on Thursday morning after a 1000L container holding herbicide spilled at an Albany business. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services sent three crews from Albany to the Elders building on Chesterpass Road in Milpara at 9.34am after receiving reports of potentially hazardous materials. Damage to a 1000L vessel of herbicide had resulted in a spill, with about 50 to 100L of the fluid leaking out. A DFES spokesperson said a scientific officer was on the scene testing the fluid, which they eventually identified as an herbicide. Both the Elders building and the neighbouring building were evacuated as a precaution. Welshpool Road, next to the Elders building, was closed to traffic, with police blocking off entry to the street while authorities examined the scene. It was reopened at about 1pm. Three people, including two men in their 30s and 40s, and a woman in her 30s, were transported via ambulance to Albany Health Campus as a precautionary measure, according to a St John WA spokesperson. The spill was cleaned up by firefighters and made safe by 1pm, more than three hours after the spill was first reported. Firefighters in hazmat suits were seen preparing to enter the contaminated area and a another firefighter in a protective mask and gloves examining the grass near a car parked nearby.