“If you discover a cat that appears irregular, please don’t contact it and phone the town or police,” authorities instructed the general public
HANDOUT/Nomura Plating/AFP through Getty
Footprints believed to be from a cat that fell right into a tank containing poisonous hexavalent chromium on the plating manufacturing facility in Fukuyama, Hiroshima
A cat fell into and escaped a poisonous and doubtlessly lethal container in Fukuyama, southwestern Japan, on Sunday. The metropolis has since launched public well being warnings, experiences The Washington Post, CBS News and the BBC.
On Sunday night time, a Nomura Plating manufacturing facility employee uncovered a path of yellow-brown paw prints that had been traced again to the poisonous container. Later, surveillance footage confirmed the cat escaped the container that held a plating answer containing the acidic carcinogen hexavalent chromium, per Japanese outlet Asahi Shimbun Digital. The 11-foot-tall tank was stuffed at roughly 70% of its capability, and a sheet was placed over it, which was then turned over, in line with Asahi Shimbun.
After the corporate had found the footage, they instructed native authorities concerning the lacking cat. “The incident woke us as much as the necessity to take measures to stop small animals like cats from sneaking in, which is one thing we had by no means anticipated earlier than,” stated a Nomura Plating spokesperson, experiences the BBC.
Related: Bookmark This: Common Household Items that Could Poison Your Pet
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the toxin may cause pores and skin irritation, respiratory issues, lung most cancers, and blindness. Additionally, the manufacturing facility workers is required to put on rubber gloves and masks when working near the liquid.
If individuals swallow the substance, completely different signs can happen, together with coronary heart failure, intestine, liver, and kidney injury, stomach ache, diarrhea, and in some instances dying, experiences Britain’s Health Security Agency.
The poisonous chemical is also called the supply of the contamination drawback in Hinkley, Calif. This 1952-1996 incident notably impressed the film Erin Brockovich — which starred Julia Roberts.
HANDOUT/Nomura Plating/AFP through Getty
Footprints believed to be from a cat that fell right into a tank containing poisonous hexavalent chromium on the plating manufacturing facility in Fukuyama, Hiroshima
It continues to be unclear whether or not the cat had ingested the substance or continues to be alive. At the time of this publication, there have been no sightings of the cat.
However, public officers introduced: “If you discover a cat that appears irregular, please don’t contact it and phone the town or police,” experiences Asahi Shimbun.
Related: Cancer-Causing Slime — the Same Substance in ‘Erin Brockovich’ — Found on Michigan Highway
Never miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free each day publication to remain up-to-date on one of the best of what PEOPLE has to supply, from celeb information to driving human curiosity tales.
For extra People information, be sure that to enroll in our publication!
Read the unique article on People.
