Chemical cloud near Pratteln – All clear in Basel after incident in chemical factory – News

  • There was an incident at the chemical company CABB in the Schweizerhalle industrial area near Pratteln/BL. The substance acetyl chloride escaped there.
  • The canton of Basel-Landschaft gave the all-clear on Saturday morning. There is no danger to the population. The material leakage was located and brought under control.
  • Around 200 police and fire departments were on site.

The situation on the chemical company’s premises has now calmed down, as the authorities announced early on Saturday morning. The behavioral recommendations for the population have been lifted. There was no fire and there were no injuries.

The incident in pictures

Late on Friday evening, the police throughout Basel and neighboring communities called for windows and doors to be closed and ventilation and air conditioning systems to be turned off. It was also advised not to exercise outdoors.

When asked, a spokesman for the Basel-Landschaft cantonal police said a cloud had been detected. There were also reports of odor nuisance from several communities. Among other things, also from the municipality of Binningen.

The substance acetyl chloride


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Acetyl chloride or acetic acid chloride is very volatile. If it gets into the air, it smokes because hydrochloric acid is formed. This in turn has a strong irritant or corrosive effect on the respiratory tract. Acetyl chloride is mainly used in chemical synthesis, such as the synthesis of drugs.

“Shortly before 9 p.m., an alarm was automatically triggered in a production building because a substance had leaked,” confirmed Julian Stäuble, media spokesman for CABB.

Multiple incidents at CABB


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The CABB company produces fine chemicals and has repeatedly been in the headlines with breakdowns in the past. In July 2014, a container with highly toxic contents burst. At the end of 2016, within just two months, there were five incidents with leaks from which toxic substances escaped. In 2021, several kilograms of pesticides flowed into the Rhine.

The exact cause of the incident is still unclear and is being investigated by specialists from the Basel-Landschaft police. On-site measurements never showed elevated values ​​outside the work area. According to a media release, the amount of acetyl chloride that leaked is still unclear.

Memories of Schweizerhalle

Every time a chemical alarm is triggered in the Basel region, it is reminiscent of the chemical disaster in Schweizerhalle/BL in 1986: On November 1st, the fire in a chemical warehouse in the industrial area of ​​Schweizerhalle caused devastating ecological damage.

Life in the Rhine was wiped out for several hundred kilometers. It took years for the river to recover. However, this chemical accident also gave rise to the Major Accident Ordinance. It makes a significant contribution to reducing the risks when handling and transporting dangerous substances.

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