A mercury spill at a Penang dialysis centre was safely contained by firefighters, with no injuries to staff or patients after a swift hazmat response.

GEORGE TOWN: A mercury spill at a dialysis centre here was safely contained by firefighters this morning with no casualties reported.

The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) responded to an emergency call at 8.50 am regarding the incident at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Dialysis Centre.

Penang JBPM assistant operations director John Sagun Francis said the spill occurred in a third-floor utility room.

Two staff members were present but were not injured, and no patients were affected as they were on separate floors.

The Hazardous Materials Unit conducted an assessment before team members donned full protective gear.

They controlled the contamination using sulphur powder to neutralise the hazardous material.

Approximately 200 millilitres of spilled mercury was successfully collected for disposal.

The collected mercury and contaminated equipment were sealed in a chemical waste bag.

Cleaning work was subsequently carried out using bleach at the site.

The entire operation concluded safely at 11.49 am.

 The Sun Malaysia