Thirty people have had to be evacuated from part of a Nottingham hospital after a nurse dropped two canisters of anaesthetic gas.
Fire crews were called to the Queen's Medical Centre at about 1000 BST to deal with an isoflurane gas spillage.
Fifteen staff and 15 patients were moved from the preparation area of the day surgery department while the gas was cleared up.
No-one was injured in the incident which took about two hours to sort out.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue watch manager Ian Edmonds said: "It could have been very serious. If the gas in ingested or inhaled, it can be potentially harmful.
"But it all went very well. We set up a dry decontamination zone with four breathing apparatus going in.
"They contained the chemical very well, absorbed it and took it out for immediate incineration."
The ward in West Block reopened just before midday.
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