Toxic spill triggers space station emergency

[Guest Glenn]

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20437359-2,00.html

 

A SPILL of toxic liquids aboard the International Space Station set off a short-lived emergency overnight, amid fears of a fire aboard the outpost.The station crew was cleaning up from one group of visitors and preparing for their next guests when they smelled toxic fumes, flight engineer Jeff Williams and commander Pavel Vinogradov reported to ground control teams in Houston and Moscow.

 

"The situation is stable right now. There's an obvious smell. There was never any smoke. It was perhaps wrongly assumed to be a fire initially," Mr Williams said.

 

The leak occurred near a Russian oxygen-generator, known as an Elektron, which works by splitting water into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen that is dumped overboard.

 

The leaked substance was believed to be potassium hydroxide, an irritant that was not life-threatening, said space station manager Mike Suffredini.

 

The crew also activated the station's emergency system, which shut down ventilation and contained the toxic spill to the Zvezda service module where the Elektron is located.

 

The crew reported a toxic smell in the Destiny science laboratory, so some fumes did spread, Mr Suffredini said.

 

The cause of the spill had not been determined.