Freon leak causes Kansas City Star to evacuate

Wednesday got off to a dangerous start for employees at The Kansas City Star. Just around the first-cup-of-coffee hour, a haze filled the newsroom, reporter Bob Cronkleton reported via Twitter. The fire department showed up to investigate, and everybody was sent out of the building. The dutiful Cronkleton stayed on the story, tweeting later, “Haze is gone out of newsroom. Everyone back inside. Freon leak to blame.

Outside for one hour. Back to work.”

It’s a good thing they identified what was wrong quickly, though. According to LiveStrong, inhaling freon is terrible for your health. Exposure can cause heart problems; vision loss; something called Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome, which happens “when an inhalant abuser is startled, causing a release of

adrenalin that stops the heart, explains American Family Physician.” Youch.