EXETER – Approximately 20 workers at the Exeter Post Office have been rushed to the hospital after becoming ill following an asbestos removal project.

Six ambulances from several towns responded to the post office at 34 Front St. around 9:30 a.m. to transport the workers to Exeter Hospital after they complained of nausea, dizziness and chest pain.

Exeter Assistant Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush said they were sickened by a solvent used by workers who removed asbestos floor tiles near the front of the building Wednesday night.

The ill workers were standing outside behind the post office when rescue personnel arrived. Berkenbush said fire crews immediately went inside the building with gas meters and discovered an “elevated volatile organic compound” which caused carbon monoxide levels to increase.

Berkenbush said crews determined that the chemical used to remove the asbestos tiles was absorbed into the plywood on the floor and released into the building.

Ambulances from Exeter, Epping and Kingston transported patients, and in some cases made multiple trips.

“We took the ones in most distress first,” Berkenbush said.

Berkenbush said the workers were not in the post office long enough for them to suffer serious health problems, but that the situation could have been worse had they remained inside.

The post office remains closed and will not be allowed to open until the plywood is removed, Berkenbush said.