Health and safety officials are struggling to decide what to do with three barges stuffed with grain from Poland which has been contaminated with illegal amounts of phospene, a flammable and highly toxic gas which is used as a fumigant.

The grain was delivered to the town of Oss by train and transferred to the barges to be taken on to the De Heus Voeders animal feed company at several locations nationwide in late July.

While one of the shipments was being unloaded in Utrecht, the phosphene alarm worn by one worker went off. Further checks revealed concentrations of phosphene far above the permitted level, and all three barges have been chained up in port for the past week while officials try to work out what to do with them.

In the first plan, the barges were to be moved to Amsterdam to be decontaminated, but local officials rejected the move. Another plan to take them to Nieuwegein also fell through.

And now a third initiative, to move them to Flevoland where the gas would be allowed to escape under the watchful eye of transport ministry inspectors, has been rejected by the provincial authority

The barges are currently in Lelystad while officials try to decide what to do next.

Phosphene is used to protect grain and other vulnerable cargo from vermin and added to shipments in the form of a pill.

In 2019, two bargees were taken to hospital after becoming ill after too high levels of phosphene were found in the hold of their ship.

The shippers on the three barges have all been checked in hospital to make sure they have not been affected.