SUFFOLK, Va. — Three gallons of a chemical preserving agent, Formalin, spilled in a storage room at Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk on Tuesday night, Sentara spokesperson Dale Gauding said in a statement. Out of an abundance of caution, the Suffolk Fire Department was called for assistance.
Formalin is a less-potent version of formaldehyde, and is used often when studying cells and cell tissue in medicine. Gauding said patient care was never impacted during this incident since the spill was in a storage room.
Gauding added that a contractor and their Environmental Services team were cleaning up the spill. All Suffolk Fire units cleared the hospital just after 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.
