Gas leak sickens people at Palmer House

[Cadfael]

About 20 people were injured, three critically, after Freon gas leaked from a refrigeration system at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel this afternoon, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The restaurant of the hotel, 17 E. Monroe St., was evacuated shortly after 2 p.m. after there were reports of people affected by Freon, a gas used to help operate the cooling system, fire department spokesman Larry Langford said.

Seventeen of the 20 injured were in good condition and the other three were in critical condition after suffering from nausea and irritation, Langford said. Forty-five people refused treatment from paramedics at the scene. The restaurant employees and customers were taken to Stroger Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center.

Maintenance work was underway on the refrigeration system, causing it to leak Freon fumes, Langford said. Authorities initially had suspected an air-conditioning system, which also uses Freon. A full evacuation of the hotel was not necessary because the fumes dissipated quickly and did not travel far, Langford said.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060317palmerhouseleak,1,912148.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[bluestateguy]

1. I've stayed in that hotel before

Nice place, but a bit pricey, and an iffy neighborhood.

[Inland]

2. Not an iffy neighborhood anymore.

Down on State Street. The Loop used to empty out at night and was a little scary. Now, tens of thousands of people live there and it's busy and comforting.

[noonwitch]

7. Trader Vic's used to be there

Best meal I've ever had in my life-Sweet and Sour Pork. It melted in my mouth, it was so good.

I heard that the restaurant recently moved. My dad took my sister, my mom and I there after we dropped my brother off in Milwaukee at Marquette. It was one of those great weekends-my dad and I were so happy to get rid of him, and my mom was so sad, that dad just gave her his credit cards, sent us to Water Tower and Michigan AVE and told us to have fun (while he went to Zimmerman's to stock up on booze). Then he took us to Trader Vic's for dinner. We didn't stay at the Palmer House, though, we stayed at what used to be the Holiday Inn on the lake with the revolving restaurant on top. I think it's a Day's Inn, now.

[anitar1]

3. Freon is terrible. Had a fridge leak one time.

Fortunately we had enough sense to leave the house immediately.

[NYC]

4. How did you know it was leaking?

Does it have a distinctive odor?

[grasswire]

5. I thought there was no odor to freon.

I had a bad experience with a renter who brought a real old freezer in. It stank to high heaven, and I suspected freon. But I was told that freon has no odor and the smell was from the fact it had been moldy inside and that smell does not dissipate.

[AngryAmish]

6. I've been gassed by freon

My own fault. Me and a buddy had to remove an old refrigerator from a what was essentially a pit. I had the bright idea to remove the refrigerator unit on top (it was an old beehive unit from the 50s). The freon smelled like stale milk, displaced the air and made me real sick. We got out of the pit and I didn't fell right for a day.

From my experience, freon is not poison, but it can f' one up.

Next time. I'll tell you about the time I got gassed by chlorine -- that was much worse.