BREAKING NEWS: 2 ST. LOUIS HOSPITALS LOCKED-DOWN/QUARANTINED DUE TO CHEMICALLY EXPOSED PATIENTS

UPDATED - SCROLL DOWN...

AP/NYT:

Two St. Louis-area hospital emergency rooms are on lockdown after the arrival of patients who appeared to be exposed to chemicals.

Authorities say three people arrived by car at St. Anthony's Hospital with health problems caused by chemical exposure, apparently at an industrial area in East St. Louis, Ill.

Meanwhile, three other victims reportedly went to SSM DePaul Health Center.

Details of their conditions were not immediately known.

Authorities say the victims were exposed to a white powdery substance.

About 20 people who were in the St. Anthony's ER were quarantined. People were not being allowed to enter or leave the emergency room.

I HOPE THIS IS NOT AN WMD ATTACK... OR WMD ACCIDENT... AND JUST INDUSTRIAL...

I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT SOMALI WHO "COMMITTED SUICIDE" WITH A POUND OF CYANIDE...

UPDATE/FOX:

Hazmat crews are investigating separate incidents at two area hospitals. Sources say several people came into contact with a chemical and drove themselves to DePaul and St. Anthony’s hospitals. Both emergency rooms were placed on lockdown and ER patients were quarantined.

There is no word yet on the origin of the chemical or the incident that sent the victims to the hospital.

UPDATE #2: ST LOUIS DISPATCH:

The three people who entered St. Anthony's ER arrived together and had respiratory problems, Silvernail said. Fire crews are trying to identify the substance. About 20 who were exposed to the three are under quarantine. .

At DePaul, where at least one individual exposed to the substance entered the emergency department, the Pattonville Fire District has brought in its portable decontamination unit to the hospital, said Jamie Newell, hospital spokeswoman.

For a while, patients at St. Anthony's weren't allowed in or out. Brian Ricker of St. Peters was visiting his brother-in-law when he was told not to leave.

"We didn't know if it was a bomb. We didn't know if it was chemical. We didn't know exactly what was going on," he said.

UPDATE #3: AFP:

Jamie Newell, a spokeswoman for SSM DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, Missouri near St. Louis, said three men who "came in contact with a dangerous substance" were admitted to the facility Saturday afternoon and that the emergency department was put on lockdown shortly threafter.

The men were in fair condition and recovering, she said.

"Fifteen employees and one patient had to be decontaminated as a precaution... but we don't believe that anybody else has been harmed," Newell told AFP.

She said officials had identified the substance, and though they had not publicly named it Newell said it was not viral -- meaning a widespread airborne contamination was not likely.

Local television station KMOV reported that two patients were in critical condition at SSM DePaul Health Center but Newell denied the report.

KMOV reported that the cases were likely linked to people who were exposed to a substance while rooting through a dumpster in East St. Louis.

News of the exposures emerged as Republican presidential hopeful John McCain was preparing to fly to St. Louis ahead of a rally on Sunday in nearby O'Fallon, Missouri.

There is "no change of plans at this point" McCain spokeswoman Kimmie Lipscomb told AFP.

UPDATE #4: FROM THE HOSPITAL'S WEBSITE:

Earlier this afternoon, three patients came to St. Anthony’s Emergency Department from a site in East St. Louis, IL. They had been exposed to a chemical believed to be nitroaniline. Two of the individuals are in satisfactory condition; one is in fair condition.

At this time, the only area of the hospital that remains restricted is the Emergency Department, which will remain closed until the process of decontaminating it is completed.

UPDATE #5: nitroaniline: WIKI:

This extremely hazardous chemical is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pesticides and dyes.

MSDS:

Stability Stable. Incompatible with sodium hydroxide, strong oxidizing agents, strong reducing agents. May attack some plastics, rubber and coatings. May decompose explosively in the presence of initiators. Moisture sensitive. May be light and air-sensitive.

WIKI:

The compound is toxic by way of inhalation, ingestion, and absorption, and should be handled with care.

SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE INDUSTRIAL OR TERRORIST RELATED.

STAY TUNED...