A cat alerts Fukushima

The animal fell into a chemical warehouse at a plating factory in Fukuyama and then wandered off into the night.

The first signs of the presence of an intruder in the metal plating plant were the footprints, stained with ocher and with a variable number of fingers.

A review of security footage confirmed the security breach, and authorities quickly issued a warning. public notice.

We must be careful, the citizens of Fukuyama, Japan, have been warned of the presence of a cat “anomalies”.

For the past week, the city has been on alert for the potentially dangerous cat that appears to have fallen into a tank of toxic chemicals at the Nomura Plating Corporation factory, and then escaped, running across a dark courtyard toward the city.

Measures

Authorities have contacted the city council, school board and nurseries to warn them of the possible risk.

Motonari Ibaraki, a representative of Nomura Plating, said the footprints were seen near the tank by an employee who arrived at work Monday morning and that security video showed the cat escaping from the factory around 9:30 the previous night.

The tank contains chromium hexavalenta reddish-brown solution widely used in coatings that has been shown to cause lung cancer in humans when inhaled.

According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, exposure can also cause kidney and liver damage, nasal and skin irritation and ulceration, as well as eye irritation and damage.

Workers who handle this chemical take precautions such as wearing masks and rubber gloves.

The cat, as its ocher paw prints suggest, was more reckless, so Fukuyama residents were warned to be careful if they encountered it.

The message is simple, said Satoshi Taki, who works at Fukuyama City’s Environmental Conservation Division: Don’t touch the cat.

Call the authorities.

Ibaraki, a representative of Nomura Plating, said the factory warehouse had been covered with a tarpaulin to prevent haze, but that it was found detached on Monday morning, presumably because the cat had fallen into it.

He said the company will take measures to prevent small animals from entering the plant.

The cat had not been seen Friday morning. Taki said that in the end he may not have survived his experience at the factory.

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