Sewer workers are poisoned by gas

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7271789.stm

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Safety at the Belfast sewers project has been reviewed after four workers were treated in hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Last month, one of the workers contacted his GP when he became unwell.

He was taken to hospital and was found to have a high level of carbon monoxide in his blood. The man was off work for several days after the incident.

Less than a week later, three other men were treated in hospital after they too felt ill after working in the sewers.

They returned to work the next day.

Ken Logan, the principal construction inspector at the health and safety executive, said he was satisfied that Northern Ireland Water and the contractor took the right action.

"Things were detected reasonably quickly and appropriate action taken to remedy them," he said.

Since the accident, cleaner fuel for the locomotives has been introduced, ventilation in the tunnels has been improved and measures have been taken to ensure more sensitive monitoring of carbon monoxide levels.

The men had been working on the ongoing £100m improvement of the city's sewerage infrastructure.