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Bulgarian town evacuates over toxic fumes


    SOFIA (Reuters) - About 350 people were evacuated from a town in central Bulgaria on Monday when toxic fumes leaked from a chemical tanker that crashed near Debelets, some 230 kilometres east of the capital, the interior ministry said.

    The tanker with Turkish registration plates was carrying styrene and more than four tonnes leaked, creating a toxic cloud.

    The municipality called for a partial evacuation of the town of 4,500, with authorities expecting 2,000 people would leave using their own transport.

    Nobody was hurt in the accident and the leak has been controlled.

    Styrene is a synthetic chemical used in the manufacture of products such as rubber, plastic, insulation, fibre glass, pipes, automobile parts, food containers, and carpet backing.

    Last month, the National Toxicology Program to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added it to the list of substances that were reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.

    (Reporting by Irina Ivanova; Editing by Matthew Jones)