Office workers were exposed to ‘hazardous chemicals’ during an emergency at an Edinburgh pharmaceutical plant resulting in three people being rushed to hospital for treatment.
Crews shut off access to the MacFarlan Smith facility at Wheatfield Road in Gorgie on Wednesday afternoon following reports a dangerous substance had been detected within the premises.
Specialist units from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were dispatched alongside teams from the Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland to deal with the incident.
READ MORE: Edinburgh chemical plant workers rushed to hospital following emergency incident
Owners of the firm, which manufactures opiate alkaloids among a host of other chemicals for use in the medical field, confirmed the road leading to the site had been temporarily closed off.
Three staff members were rushed to a local medical facility for treatment but were later released.
London-based parent company Johnson Matthey denied reports the incident had been caused by a "chemical spill or leak," but an internal probe is underway.
They added: “There was an incident at our Edinburgh site and emergency services were in attendance in accordance with our site procedures.
"Three people working on site were taken to hospital for further examination as a precautionary measure and were discharged last night. The safety of our workers and the public is our highest priority.”
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A spokesperson for the SFRS said: “We were alerted at 1:41pm on Wednesday, February 16 to reports of a hazardous substance within an office premises at Wheatfield Road in Edinburgh.
“Two fire appliances and three specialist support vehicles were mobilised to the scene to assist emergency services partners.
“Crews were stood down at 2:32pm and the last appliance left the scene at 2:38pm.”
