White phosphorus leak reported inside US airbase in South Korea, safety ministry says

South Korean authorities ordered brief neighborhood evacuations on Tuesday after a white phosphorus leak inside the US Osan Air Base south of Seoul. No casualties were reported, and the evacuation notice was lifted after about half an hour as decontamination work was carried out.

South Korean authorities ordered brief neighborhood evacuations on Tuesday after a leak of white phosphorus inside the US Osan Air Base south of Seoul, the Safety Ministry said. No casualties were reported, and the evacuation notice for residents was lifted after about half an hour, as South Korean fire authorities and US forces carried out decontamination work. The base said in a statement that at 17:08, due to a ground mishap and out of an abundance of caution, it established a 1,000-foot safety cordon to protect the base and local populace. A spokesperson confirmed a munitions-related accident and said the situation was being assessed. White phosphorus is a highly toxic substance that can ignite on contact with air and is used in battlefield smoke screens and incendiary weapons.