The army bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion close to St James’s Hospital in Dublin tonight following a chemical leak in one of the hospital’s labs.
Gardaí and the army were notified by hospital management about the leak as the chemical involved can become volatile.
In a statement on X, the hospital notified the public saying: “You [the public] may have seen a high level of activity around the hospital’s lab. We are currently investigating a minor issue and taking all necessary precautions.
“There is no cause for concern. All hospital services are operating as normal. Thanks for co-operating with personnel on site.”
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A garda spokesperson said tonight that the incident had been fully dealt with and allayed any public concerns over safety.
The spokesperson explained that they were alerted to an incident involving a hazardous substance at a premises in the James’s Street area in Dublin 8 shortly before 6pm.
“A cordon was established by Gardaí and the Army EOD unit attended at the scene,” the spokesperson said.
“A controlled explosion was conducted by Army EOD at a nearby location.”
The cordon was subsequently lifted and the area was declared safe.
The spokesperson said “no additional information is available at this time”.
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