Hazardous substance successfully disposed of in Zurich

No time? blue News summarizes for you

• Almost 270 residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure on Sunday due to the disposal of a potentially extremely dangerous chemical substance at ETH Zurich.
• The gas cylinder filled with chlorine trifluoride was reloaded into a special recovery container as planned and transported away by a specialist company.
• According to the ETH, the highly reactive gas was used in the past to analyze rock samples.

Summary created with

The disposal of a potentially hazardous chemical substance from a former ETH Zurich research inventory was successfully completed on Sunday. The almost 270 residents evacuated as a precautionary measure were able to return to their homes as planned.

The gas cylinder filled with chlorine trifluoride was reloaded as planned into a specially designed recovery container and removed by a specialist company, the Zurich cantonal police announced on Sunday afternoon. The coordinated operation in the area of the ETH started as planned on Sunday morning. All residents had left their homes in good time.

20,000 people affected

Largest evacuation since 1945 due to bomb disposal in Cologne

Chlorine trifluoride is extremely dangerous

The precautionary safety measures for reloading and removal from a secure laboratory at ETH Zurich were lifted after around six hours. The ordered evacuation and the temporary traffic restrictions were lifted after the work was completed at 4.25 pm. The affected residents were allowed to return to their homes.

According to the police, there were no incidents during the coordinated operation. All work was carried out in a controlled manner and in accordance with the planned measures.

According to the ETH, chlorine trifluoride has been used in the past to analyze rock samples. The gas is considered one of the most dangerous chemicals of all, is toxic and can ignite on contact.