Employees sickened by La Porte facility gas leak still out of work, report not feeling well

LA PORTE, Texas (KTRK) -- One of the eight victims sickened by a gas leak in La Porte on Monday is speaking only to ABC13 days later.

La Porte Office of Emergency Management officials reported the leak at Altivia, a shipment terminal.

The chemicals reportedly traveled over its fence to a neighboring facility and sickened employees there, resulting in a temporary shelter-in-place order for residents in the immediate area.

"Glad to be alive," Aruna Mikalausaas, the terminal manager for Cargoloop, an international auto shipping company, said.

Mikalausaas was unexpectedly exposed to what officials say was phosgene gas three days ago.

The leak originated from a facility just over the fence from Cargoloop.

He said he felt a liquid spray on his face on Monday morning and almost immediately got sick.

"I start feeling, like, (a) very weird taste in my mouth. Like, I start breathing, you can't fully breathe. We start coughing, and then the guy that was with me started coughing and throwing up," Mikalausaas said.

Mikalausaas said he and seven of his employees had to go to the hospital.

"They did lots of stuff. I got a couple pills because, like, it was very bouncy in my head, very painful for me personally, but I didn't get any IVs or anything," Mikalausaas said.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: La Porte shelter-in-place lifted after gas leak, 8 hospitalized due to exposure, officials say

Altivia, a La Porte terminal that delivers shipments to the ports of Houston and rail locations, took responsibility for the leak.

The company claimed a pressure-release device ruptured, resulting in the release of the phosgene gas.

According to experts, exposure to the gas may irritate and dry the eyes and cause burning throat, vomiting, cough, breathing difficulty, and chest pain.

"I would say a chemical plant in the middle of an area where there are a lot of people - they need to be more careful," Mikalausaas said.

The leak resulted in a temporary shelter-in-place order for residents south of Fairmont between Bay Area and S. 16th Street, which officials said was precautionary.

Mikalausaas was released from the hospital Tuesday night.

He said he was back at work on Wednesday but described constantly feeling out of breath, almost like he ran up a flight of stairs.

Mikalausaas said he didn't leave the hospital with a clear understanding of how exactly the exposure to the gas would impact his body.

"This was like a new experience for me in my life, so I don't know what is going on," Mikalausaas said.

"Are you worried you're going to have long-term effects from this," ABC13 asked him.

"I would say yes because all the guys that were affected Monday did not show up (Wednesday) because they are still not feeling well," Mikalausaas said.

Mikalausaas added that the seven other exposed employees have follow-ups with doctors in two weeks to check their lung function.

Emergency management gave an all-clear for the area on Monday.

At last check, Altivia said it would continue to perform fence line monitoring. ABC13 reached out for an update on Wednesday but has not heard back.

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