By Khalida Sarwari
A Monterey hotel employee who accidentally mixed together two chemicals caused a hazardous materials incident that sent 30 people to the hospital and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of guests, a city spokeswoman said.
At about 9:15 a.m., the Monterey Fire Department received a call reporting a hazardous materials incident in the basement of the Portola Hotel, located at 2 Portola Plaza, Monterey city spokeswoman Anne McGrath said.
The incident occurred in or near a barrel in the laundry room, where employees were working. Thirty employees were taken to various hospitals in the area. One guest requested to be evaluated as a precautionary measure prior to his flight, McGrath said.
Most of the people who were transported reported experiencing respiratory problems.
All 210 hotel guests were evacuated, along with five or six employees at the adjacent Monterey Conference Center. No conferences were in progress at the time.
The hotel was closed as of 4:15 p.m. but McGrath said it would reopen as soon as the county hazardous materials team removed the barrel from the laundry room.
The release of chlorine gas was caused by an employee who mixed together acid and bleach, McGrath said.
