Hospital Disputes Evacuation, Gas Leak Event

Marlborough Hospital officials contacted Marlborough Patch Thursday morning disputing a report that dangerous ethylene oxide gas leaked inside a hospital laboratory early Wednesday.

"There was no leak, there was no evacuation," said Melissa Hodgson, marketing and communications director for the hospital, referring to the alarm that went off shortly after 6 a.m.

In a revised press release sent by the hospital to Marlborough Patch, Hodgson said, "The section of the hospital where the Central Sterile Supply was located was cordoned off and staff in the adjacent areas were restricted access. The hospital was not evacuated."

For precautionary reasons, however, a security guard who was in the vicinity of the supposed leak was checked out in the nearby emergency room, which was unaffected by the incident. 

After an investigation, it was determined by hazmat personnel that there was no ethylene oxide present. 

Hospital staff were allowed to return to the area as of 7:39 a.m., and began an investigation to determine the cause of the alarm, which is suspected of being a mechanical failure of monitoring equipment, said hospital staff. 

Discrepancies in the initial report were due to a breakdown in communication between hospital and fire department officials, said Hodgson.

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