Several employees of a Wheat Ridge grocery market were sickened this afternoon when one of them broke a bottle of liquid insecticide and fumes spread.
A man in his 20s, one of the four or five employees at Heinie’s Market who reported feeling ill, was taken to a hospital to be checked out, said Scott Pribble, a spokesman for Arvada Fire, which responsded to the call.
The spill happened at the small market at 11801 W. 44th Ave. at about 2:45 p.m. and will close the store for at least the rest of the afternoon while authorities air out the building and make sure it’s safe, he said.
The insecticide is melathion, which is commonly sold in retail stores to combat adult mosquitoes, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.
“It is very unlikely anyone will become ill as a result of contact with the very low concentration of malation used in spraying operations,” the health department fact sheet on the chemical states.
“High dose exposure usually results from drinking the chemical accidentally or intentionally or from working with the undiluted chemical.”
