Mystery chemical sickens customs agents

Five U.S. Customs Agents were transported to a Brownsville hospital on Wednesday after being sickened by a chemical escaping from a freight train that was crossing the B&M International Bridge.

Felix Garza, spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said the northbound railroad car coming onto the bridge was releasing strong chemical odors. The odor caused the agents to feel dizzy and nausea.

The car was believed to contain residue of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, but Assistant Fire Chief Omar Alegria said that the odor described by the agents affected did not match that of the chemical.

Methylene diphenyl diisocynate is an industrial chemical commonly used to make urethane.

"If we walked up and smelled the chemical, we might be able to determine what it is, but we don't want to send in our people without protection," Alegria said. "At the moment we're trying figure it out as safely as possible."

Garza said the agents were being offered medical treatment as a precautionary method.

"It is our hope that they will be checked, they will be found healthy and that they will be able to go home tonight and enjoy their evening," Garza said.

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