Official statement 

The last person hospitalized, at the Virgen del Camino Public Hospital, due to inhalation of the toxic gases released in the Central Building of the University -the building affected by the car bomb on Thursday October 30^th- has been discharged. 

 

Since the initial incident Wednesday November 5th, a total of 301 persons have received medical attention at the hospitals of Pamplona for problems resulting from the inhalation of gases. At the University of Navarra Hospital 280 persons have been attended to, of whom only 8 remain hospitalized. 

 

At the Virgin del Camino Hospital 12 persons have received medical attention, and three of these remain hospitalized. The Public Hospital of Navarra attended 8 persons, of whom only one remains under observation. The Primary Care Division of the Navarran Health Service attended to the medical needs of each person. 

 

Dr. Javier Zulueta, Director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, made a declaration about the diagnosis of the patients treated. He stated that the patients presented irritative cough, nausea, difficulty breathing, headaches and mild fever; in a minority of the cases, there was also present an alteration in thoracic X-rays. 

 

These symptoms were present in only one third of those who were in the Central Building on Wednesday, and the release of gases did not affect any other building on campus.

 

 

 

Those persons who received medical attention at the University Hospital or at any other health center as a result of inhalation of the gases released in the Central Building, will not be billed for their treatment. If anyone has received a bill in error, they may visit the Administrative Offices of the University Hospital, where the payment of the bill will be taken care of.

 

In addition, the persons affected may also visit the Administrative Offices of the Hospital in order to present receipts for reimbursement for the costs of any medication prescribed as a result of the medical treatment received for gas inhalation.

 

 

In regards to the situation of the Central Bldg., on Friday a meeting was held that brought together representatives of the University, the Occupational Safety Inspectorate, the Navarran Institute for Occupational Health and the Institute of Public Health in order to analyze the situation. It was agreed that the suspension of normal activity in the building should be maintained, and access restricted, until its complete decontamination could be achieved.

 

In recent hours, an isolation system has been constructed to separate the area most affected by the explosion from the rest of the building, with a double seal to prevent the passage of gases from the affected zone.

 

In addition, over the next several days, a cleanup and decontamination plan will be developed, as well as a project for eliminating residues and repairing the affected zone. These activities will be carried out following a plan designed by the Occupational Safety Service in order to guarantee the health and safety of the personnel who will be working in the affected zones of the building.

 

Research into the specific causes of the gas buildup, as well as the evaluation of the measures needed to obtain a complete decontamination, will continue over the next several days, with an emphasis on the principle of precaution in regards to health risks to persons.

 

 

Yesterday, the Navarran Health Institute held a press conference. During this conference, Javier Aldaz, head of the Food Safety and Environmental Health Service of the Government of Navarra, explained that the explosion last Thursday was the cause of this current accident. “Taking into account the symptoms presented by those affected, and the opinion of the National Toxicology Institute, the cause of the poisoning was the inhalation of substances derived from the combustion of highly diverse materials.” He further explained that there do not exist many precedents for this kind of event which could have aided in predicting its occurrence a week after the explosion of the bomb that produced the initial damages.