300 Evacuated After Toxic Rocket Fuel Leak
- Input
- 2026-08-07 04:52:40
- Updated
- 2026-08-07 04:52:40
[Financial News] About 300 employees and others were urgently evacuated after hydrazine, a highly toxic chemical, leaked at Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. Fire authorities completed the cleanup while wearing chemical protective suits, and no casualties have been confirmed so far.
According to the Gyeonggi-do Fire Disaster Headquarters on the 7th, about 200 ml of hydrazine leaked at around 4:26 p.m. the previous day in a laboratory at KETI in Yatap-dong, Bundang District, Seongnam City.
Immediately after the accident, more than 300 employees and others inside the laboratory building evacuated outside, and no casualties have been reported so far. Firefighters who responded to the scene entered the affected laboratory after deploying crews in chemical protective suits.
The firefighters opened the laboratory windows to ventilate the area, then used absorbent pads to remove all hydrazine that had spilled onto the floor. After safety measures were completed, no further spread or secondary damage was reported.
Hydrazine is a highly toxic, colorless liquid chemical. It is widely used as rocket and spacecraft propellant fuel, and even skin contact or inhalation can seriously affect the human body, making strict safety management essential during handling.
Police and fire authorities believe the bottle may have been damaged or its contents may have leaked while a box containing a glass bottle of hydrazine solution was being moved. The relevant agencies are investigating the exact cause of the leak and how the accident occurred.
[email protected] Jung Ji-woo Reporter