Employee of metallic plant in Fukuyama noticed a path of yellowy-brown paw prints main away from a container of hexavalent chromium
Wed 13 Mar 2024 02.34 CET
It could possibly be the opening scene from a brand new Marvel movie. Residents of a Japanese metropolis have been warned to not method or contact a lacking cat that seems to have fallen right into a vat of poisonous chemical substances earlier than scampering off.
The seek for the unfortunate feline started after an worker of a metallic plating plant in Fukuyama, western Japan, arrived at work to discover a path of yellowy-brown paw prints main away from a container of hexavalent chromium, a extremely acidic carcinogen.
Touching the chemical could cause pores and skin irritation and inhaling it may well result in respiratory issues. Factory workers put on masks and rubber gloves when dealing with the substance, the agency mentioned, in line with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
Security digital camera footage reveals the cat leaving the manufacturing facility, its whereabouts at present unknown.
There doesn’t look like any footage displaying how the cat got here into contact with the chemical, which was saved in a three-metre-deep vat.
“We immediately alerted police, the Fukuyama city and neighbours near our factory,” a consultant of the agency, Nomura Plating Fukuyama Factory, informed Agence France-Presse.
The firm mentioned a part of a sheet overlaying the tank appeared to have been turned over.
“The incident woke us up to the need to take measures to prevent small animals like cats from sneaking in, which is something we had never anticipated before,” the unnamed consultant added.
There had been no reported sightings of the animal as of Tuesday. Locals have been informed to name police instantly if they arrive throughout an “abnormal-looking” cat, and to maintain their distance.
Fukuyama environmental officers speculated that the cat might have died because of its encounter with the toxic chemical.
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