Storage Tank Failures

A sulfuric acid spill brought traffic to a halt on parts of Interstate 15 for nearly three hours Wednesday.  Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski SAYS a 55 gallon drum containing the hazardous liquid began leaking from the back of a truck after 4 p.m. Wednesday.  A driver who spotted the leak called 911 to alert authorities.  Firefighters neutralized the acid by using another chemical.   At first, traffic was blocked on both sides of I-515 near East Charleston Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard. But officials began allowing some traffic to move as the cleanup got under way.  The entire roadway was reopened about 7 p.m.

Officials are looking into what caused 27 cars of a CXS train to derail in Ravena Monday morning.  They say it happened around 5 a.m. on a single track area in the town of Coeymans.  Police say the cars were carrying diesel fuel and sulfuric acid, however no contents were spilled.  The wreck is however causing some headaches for other trains in the area.  ”This is the main line that runs from NYC to the Selkirk yards, just north of the derailment it opens up to two tracks but unfortunately where it's at is a one track area and all train traffic is currently stopped,” said Coeyman Police   Chief Gregory Darlington.  Crews are hoping to have the tracks cleared up by 9 or 10 p.m. Monday evening.  The cause of the crash remains under investigation.  The last time a train derailed in that area was in the early 1980's.

Tshwane Emergency Services finished cleaning operations near the Fresh Produce Market, west of Pretoria.  The market was closed on Wednesday after a truck carrying sulphuric acid experienced a leak there on Tuesday night.   The liquid is corrosive and toxic if inhaled. Officials evacuated people in a kilometer radius from the vehicle.  Tshwane Emergency Services’ Johan Pieterse said, “The product was classified as sulphuric acid and was evaluated and the fresh produce market as well. We evacuated the area due to the wind direction that was directly behind the fresh produce market.”  The market will resume normal trading on Thursday morning.
The Tshwane Fresh Produce Market, in the west of Pretoria, re-opened for business on Thursday, following a spillage of sulphuric acid from a truck on Tuesday.  The acid has been cleaned up by the Tshwane Fire Brigade Services and, together with the Agriculture and Environmental Management Department, it has declared the area safe.   The market was closed to ensure cars and pedestrians did not step on the acid residue on the piece of road affected or walk into the market and so that there was no inhalation of the gasses from the acid which can have an irritating affect.   "The city would like to dispel rumours about the possibility of the produce having to be destroyed as a result of gasses from the spill," says City of Tshwane spokesperson Console Tleane. He said in fact the acid spill had not affected the produce at all. 

Hazardous materials officials have completed off-loading of sulfuric acid waste from a carrier truck on the Massachusetts Turnpike, but the clean up is scheduled to continue at least until Thursday.  The tanker remains isolated at a service plaza in the Hampden County town of Blandford. The rest stop is expected to be closed at least another day.  State police say the truck contained approximately 40,000 pounds of the waste sulfuric product. Hazmat officials who opened the tanker on Tuesday discovered a rupture of one of its compartments.  Police say there is no danger to the surrounding area. However, the substance poses a threat to those exposed to it.  Police say the truck driver suffered an initial minor exposure and that the leak is limited to the rest area.

The load, being hauled in a truck registered to the Ashland Company, originated at Fort Devens and was bound for Binghamton, N.Y. The company is licensed to haul harmful chemicals.  It contained 40,000 pounds of a sulfuric acid waste product. The load was distributed among 12 to 15 tote containers, each measuring approximately 3,500 pound and 500 gallons. During transit, the load shifted and one of the containers apparently ruptured.  Some two to four of the totes were damaged when the load shifted, Keefe said, adding that only a small amount of acid is believed to have spilled outside the truck. A stainless steel containment system inside the truck caught most of the acid

A 400-gallon container filled with sulfuric acid exploded inside a Newark processing plant today, seriously injuring a nearby employee who was splashed with dangerous chemicals, officials said.  Authorities are still trying to determine what caused the explosion, which forced 60 firefighters and Department of Environmental Protection officials to respond to the bio-diesel fuel processing plant on Passaic Street around 3:40 p.m., according to Newark Fire Chief Michael Lalor.  The victim, who was not identified, suffered third-degree burns to eighteen percent of his body and was taken to Saint Barnabas Medical Center’s burn unit in Livingston with non-life threatening injuries, Lalor said.  The man was apparently connecting hoses to a tanker truck filled with methanol when the acid container burst behind him, according to Lalor.  He said the facility mixes acids and other chemicals to make bio-diesel fuels.  Firefighters and DEP representatives spent nearly 21/2 hours trying to decontaminate the building. Lalor said 100 to 200 gallons of acid spilled and flooded the structure, and hazmat teams weren’t able to fully neutralize the acid in the area until 6:10 p.m.  Methanol and sulfuric acid are flammable substances, according to Lalor, and officials on the scene had to work quickly to close the methanol container after the acid leak, fearing a possible second explosion.  "It has a low flash point, but we wanted to make sure it didn’t ignite at all," Lalor said.   The incident also forced State Police to shut down water traffic in the nearby Passaic River for about an hour, as firefighters worked to dissipate a vapor cloud that was floating toward the river as a result of the acid explosion.

A sulfur dioxide leak from an old refrigerator forced seven people from their Birch Street home Tuesday night.  Two people - a resident and a firefighter - were taken to Manchester Memorial Hospital as a precuation. They were treated and discharged, fire department said, and the four-family house has since been declared safe.  The leak happened about 8:20 p.m. in one of the apartments at 64 Birch St., where a man and woman were cleaning ice out of a very old refrigerator, according to a press release from the town's fire department, Manchester Fire-Rescue-EMS. The refrigerator contained sulfur dioxide, a precursor to Freon, which is a poisonous gas that is severely irritating to the skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs. The substance was phased out as a refrigerant in the 1960s, the fire department said.  The gas escaped when a refrigerant line inside the freezer was punctured, fire officials said. Some refrigerant was sprayed in the face of a female resident. Both the man and woman, who were exposed to the pungent odor of escaping gas, flushed their faces with water, firefighters said; they and the other five occupants left the apartment and called 911.  A regional hazardous materials team and the state Department of Environmental Protection joined fire crews at the scene. The house was ventilated and the refrigerator removed.

Two employees at a Buckeye chemical plant were taken to a hospital this week after they were burned by sulfuric acid, officials said.  The men were taken Tuesday from the Thatcher Company chemical plant to the burn unit at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix in stable condition, Buckeye Fire Chief Bob Costello said. They had "at least second-degree burns" on their heads and faces.  Plant manager Philip Belden said the men were released from the hospital about two hours later.  Firefighters responded to the chemical plant at 6321 N. Rainbow Road about 11:15 a.m., Costello said.   Belden said the incident is under investigation. The men were repairing a sulfuric-acid pipeline when the acid spilled. The men had been working on the pipes for two days "so they had several pieces of it apart and had been replacing parts," Belden said.  The employees were wearing full protective equipment, including Gore-Tex acid suits, rubber boots and gloves, hardhats, face shields and goggles, according to safety protocols, Belden said. They had completed extensive safety training in accordance with company standards.  The employees followed the standard protocol for spills, he said, which prioritizes helping the injured employee.  "Protocol is obviously different depending on the situation, but your standard protocol is obviously first aid," Belden said. "If it's beyond the ability of plant personnel, then it goes out to a 911 call."  Belden would not say what other procedures and standards the company has in place to protect employees.  Belden said Tuesday's incident was the first chemical spill at the plant in the three years he has worked there.   "We do our best to make sure that this place is safe with all the safety precautions, engineering controls, training procedures," Belden said.   "This was something that certainly is not commonplace. . . . so we'll have an investigation into it and make sure that we do corrective measures to make sure this type of incident doesn't happen again."  Ten people work at the Buckeye plant. Thatcher Company is a chemical manufacturing and distributing company based in Salt Lake City, according to the company's website. It employs more than 250 people in eight states.

A sulfuric acid spill closed one westbound lane on U.S. 30 through Monday evening's commute.  About 55 gallons of the acid leaked out of a tractor-trailer traveling from KCI Chemical in Kingsbury in LaPorte County to Wisconsin.   A container holding the chemical had fallen over in the truck, as did another container of phosphoric acid that leaked a lesser amount of that corrosive.  A Valparaiso police officer pulled the truck over after noticing the leak about 1:30 p.m.   The driver, according to some accounts, noticed the problem first after hearing a crash inside his trailer, opened the back door and inhaled fumes.  He was taken to Porter hospital for observation, although officials didn't know if he'd been admitted.   "He got a good whiff," said Greg Eckhardt, deputy director of Environmental Operations for Porter County.  Eckhardt, who was the hazmat worker on the scene, compared the inhalation to using strong cleaning chemicals in a small room.   No one else was hurt, and Eckhardt said that as long as no one touched it directly, the acid wasn't a threat.  There was no cloud or major fume collection from the chemical.  A clean-up contractor was expected to remove all the truck's chemicals and neutralize the acid with a strong base, such as baking soda.  Some of the topsoil that the acid leaked onto would also be removed.  The Valparaiso officer first noticed the leak near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Indiana 2 and pulled the truck over west of Marsh Street, Senior State Trooper Tom Quinn said.  Quinn couldn't speculate how long the materials had been leaking, but state police planned to inspect the truck for any violations. "We know right away there's going to be a securement violation on the load," Quinn said, referring to the tipped drums on board.

Potentially dangerous chemical fumes at the Lucite International plant near Millington led to the evacuation of businesses and residences along Highway 51 and Fite Road Tuesday morning.   The Lucite plant, which is next to the Dupont plant, started fuming a vapor mix of sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide, which reacts with moisture in the air to create a dense sulfuric acid mist. Sulfur trioxide can be harmful if ingested or inhaled, and can also cause skin and severe eye irritation on contact.  Plant spokesman Tom Eubanks said there was not a chemical leak, but referred to the situation as "a fuming condition" as the sulfuric acid regeneration plant was started up.  The Shelby County Fire Department and HAZMAT teams were called in to assist.  Several businesses along Highway 51 between Fite Road and the Loosahatchie River in about a one mile radius were evacuated until emergency crews safely cleared the scene.  Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, said 30-40 people in the immediate area were affected by the evacuation.  No injuries have been reported.

Investigations are under way after an estimated 200 pounds of the acid rain-producing gas sulfur trioxide leaked into the air Tuesday at the BASF plant near Palmyra.  There were no injuries and no immediate environmental impact was detected.  Initial company tests showed the chemical was contained to the sprawling site along Missouri Highway 168 near the Mississippi River.  The leak took place in an isolated part of the plant. It was detected about 7 a.m. and lasted until 10 a.m. Only 25 of the more than 300 employees were evacuated. As a precaution, barge traffic was suspended until 1:05 p.m.  Plant Manager Michael McFarlane said that the leak “more than likely” resulted from a mechanical failure, but added that at least a dozen BASF personnel would be searching for what went wrong using data that records glitches in the system and how to prevent it from happening again.  State investigators also were going to test for environmental damage and look at whether regulatory action was needed.  “It’s too early to say if there’s anything that needs to be remediated,” said Judd Slivka of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.  “We work hand-in-hand with regulators to make sure we do everything we need to do,” McFarlane said.  Winds may have blown some of the gas toward Illinois, but Adams County Emergency Management Director John Simon in Quincy had received no reports of problems and a spokesman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said no testing was planned.  “Our understanding is the plume dissipated pretty rapidly,” Slivka said. “If it had to happen, the weather was perfect for it. There was a light wind and no rain.”  Sulfur trioxide is a precursor to sulfuric acid, which BASF uses to make herbicides. It is one of the most massively produced chemicals in America, and is a component in acid rain.   The chemical is caustic and can cause respiratory problems. When sulfur trioxide is exposed to air, it rapidly takes up water and gives off white fumes. If it combines with water, it releases considerable heat while forming sulfuric acid.  McFarlane said production of sulfur trioxide would be halted until the internal review was completed. He said the plant’s emergency precautions worked well.  “The people on site are trained to handle this type of thing,” McFarlane said. “Everybody moved into action pretty quickly. Everything was done by the book. Above all, we’re glad everybody’s safe.”  If investigators find that the plant exceeded its permitted level of sulfur trioxide, the state could fine BASF. The allowable level for BASF is 2,000 parts per million in a three-hour period, according to the state.  The release was the second reported by BASF in the last 10 months. In May 2009, an apparent failure during an incinerator test led to the discharge of the anti-corrosion chemical hexavalent chromium into the river.  Slivka said the Department of Natural Resources is seeking “enforcement action” against BASF because of the incident, but declined to discuss specifics because the case remains open

No chemicals have spilled from a train derailment on Detroit’s west side, according to the Detroit Fire Department Hazardous Materials Unit.  The unit was sent to the tracks at Joy and Freeland roads after at least two cars carrying sodium nitrate and sulfuric acid jumped the track at 11:33 a.m., Detroit Fire Department Capt. Gerod Funderburg said. No one was injured in the derailment.

Area firefighters and a county decontamination team were sent to an RIDC Park company Friday at about 8 a.m. for a leaking tanker.  O'Hara police Superintendent James Farringer said hot, liquid sulfur was leaking from a tanker that arrived sometime Thursday at Sauereisen Inc. at 160 Gamma Drive.  The company manufactures specialized acid- and temperature-resistant adhesives, sealants and cements.  "No one has been evacuated and no one is hurt," Farringer said.  Allegheny County 911 dispatched Highland Hose of Tarentum and other Alle-Kiski firefighters with special hazardous materials handling equipment to assist.  The units formed a convoy to reach the industrial park.  Sauereisen Vice President Carl Sauereisen said the leak was contained and was being dealt with.  "Molten sulfur solidifies almost immediately (when it comes in contact with air), especially in these temperatures," Sauereisen said.  He said the tanker, which doesn't belong to the company, leaked in a contained area and Sauereisen employees were able to continue work in the plant.   The solid sulfur was to be taken away when it cools, he said.  Molten sulfur can be used in a process to test the strength of concrete mixes. It also can be used as a bonding mortar on utility poles.  Sauereisen employs about 38 people.  The company was founded in 1899 to make cements used in high-temperature, corrosive or acidic situations.  The company continues to develop new products and ships many of them overseas, Sauereisen said.

The Ohio State Patrol said traffic resumed to normal around 2 a.m. on Interstate 75 after an acid leak shut down the highway for nearly 12 hours.  It took about 10 yours for police, fire and hazmat crews to clean up the sulfuric acid spill that shut down the highway in Harrison Township and prompted an evacuation.  Lt Bill Peck said, “He thought he had a flat tire and then realized he had spillage in the trailer.”  The driver of the semi pulled over near Needmore Road as he headed north. Then, clouds of vapor started to appear.  Police and fire crews quickly realized that they had an acid spill and were forced to shut down the highway. Then, they called in the Dayton Regional Hazardous Materials team.  The driver told authorities that he was hauling three different kinds of acid in the truck. The acids had already been used in an industrial process and were headed for proper disposal.  According to the driver, there were 40-50 containers in the trailer, some of them 55-gallon drums. Others were 250 plastic containers known as totes.  As night fell, workers suited up in Level A hazmat suits, which provides the biggest protection available and went into the trailer.  The hazmat crew identified the problem as a leaking tote that had spilled much of its 250 gallons of used sulfuric acid. They were able to neutralize the material that had spilled on the ground, putting an end to the vapors that can cause nose, eye, throat and lung irritation.  The decision was then made to take the trailer slowly up to an exit ramp, transfer the other barrels and totes and take them back to the plant in West Carrollton, where the came from.  Each container will have to be decontaminated and then reloaded on another truck for disposal. Workers will look at the plastic container that leaked.  A hazmat supervisor told News Center 7 what the plastic container was made of. Denny Bristow said, “Polyvinyl, polyethylene-type container. It’s very thick-walled. It’s not like a gallon milk jug. It’s a very thick plastic.”  Officials said the truck left the Veolia plant in West Carrollton with the used and contaminated acids and were headed for a disposal site in Michigan near the Detroit area.  Troopers said they do not anticipate that the driver will face any charges.  Firefighters did evacuate Northridge High School and Timberlane Elementary as a precaution, but there were no reports of any injuries.
Technical Solutions said it will re-evaluate its procedures following an acid spill Wednesday, Jan. 20, that shut down traffic on I-75 in both directions for hours.   Denny Bristow, coordinator or the Dayton Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team, said Thursday that the spill was caused when a valve from one container cracked another container in the back of the tractor-trailer rig.  Curtis Mabry, spokesman for Veolia, said the containers of waste acids were loaded and packaged in accordance with Department of Transportation guidelines, but a review of procedures could result in changes companywide. Bristow said investigators consider the spill an accident. He did not expect any fines or citations would be issued.
The spill involved a 300-gallon container of sulfuric acid on a truck loaded with hydrochloric, sulfuric and phosphoric acids. A cloud from the spill drifted across I-75 from east to west, causing a potential health hazard. About 50 employees of a nearby aerospace company’s plant were evacuated for safety reasons.

It could have been a major event earlier this morning no the 401 between Belleville and Trenton.
A tanker truck carrying sulphuric acid caught fire around 6 on the 401 westbound…east of the Glen Miller Road.  Fortunately, the fire started on the trucks tires, and Quinte West firefighters from Tuckers Corners had the flames out before they could effect the tank’s contents. Meanwhile..be warned….traffic is slow on the 401 westbound between Belleville and Trenton, as only one lane is open as crews continue to clean up the accident scene.

A big rig wreck blocked a freeway connector ramp in southeast Houston for hours Thursday afternoon.   The crash happened on the ramp connecting the Gulf Freeway inbound to the eastbound loop at about 11am. Crews were being cautious with the accident because according to a placard on the tanker truck, it was hauling sulfuric acid. Thankfully none of the liquid spilled.  Firefighters had to pull the pinned driver out of the truck. He didn't appear to be seriously injured

Firefighters were called to contain a sulfuric acid spill at the Darigold plant.  At about 3 p.m. an employee noticed the smell and realized an acid spill had occurred at the plant, 8424 Depot Road. Lynden Fire Department crews arrived to find about 15 to 20 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled out of one of the plant's warehouses, said Chief Gary Baar.  A cracked pipe or valve had led to the spill, which seeped out of the warehouse and onto the road. The spill was caught and contained with sandbags before any acid got into the city's sewer or stormwater drains.  No one was injured in the spill, and there was no threat to neighboring businesses, Baar said.  Local Darigold representatives did not return calls about the spill. According to the Darigold Web site, the Lynden plant was built in the 1920s and has been producing dried-milk products since the 1970s.

The cars and transport vehicles plying between Dutywa and Mthatha on the N2 freeway were compelled to take a different route after an incident of toxic spillage. A part of the road was closed after a truck carrying large amount of sulfuric acid developed a leak. The incident took place in the wee hours of the morning. Tshepo Machaea, the Arrive Alive provincial spokesperson said that the acid was highly corrosive. It could pose serious threat tote cars and motorists had they come close to it. The administration did not want to take any chances after 4 vehicles plying on the road after the spillage took place got damaged. In fact several parts of those vehicles were damaged along with the tyres. Later mechanics were called to help out the drivers.

The acid got spilled over 4 km on the road. Even the grass at the roadside started changing color, such was the strength of the acid. Around 15 cleaners were deployed in the area to make the road usable again. They used a material known as road lime to neutralize the acid. Tshepo Machaea said that at least one lane of the road can be opened to traffic and the motorists would be able to use it. Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela, a police spokesperson said that people living in adjacent areas were told to keep their kids away to avoid any mishap.
The residents were also advised to keep their pest away from the road. Luckily the spillage did not cause any injury or accident as it was spotted early. By the end of Saturday the cleaning is likely to be over.

A mining accident nearly took the life of a valley man Saturday.  A worker fell into some sulfuric acid while working in Globe.  The man was hit in the chest by a 500-pound pipe, and fell backwards into a tank of sulfuric acid used to clean metals.  The unidentified worker fell backward into runoff from a leaching operation that contained a very low amount of sulfuric acid. The man was airlifted to Maricopa Medical Center, and while being transported, the flight crew complained of burns to their hands.  About 20 firefighters set up a hazardous materials unit at the hospital when the medical helicopter landed.  "We're monitoring not only the situation and the byproducts of that chemical, but we are also watching the staff as they treat this patient," says Phoenix Fire Dept. Capt. Jonathan Jacobs.  They were able to contain the hazardous material, and the victim remains in critical condition.

A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying sulfuric acid derailed early Sunday morning in Gilbert.  The incident prompted authorities to issue voluntary evacuations in the surrounding area.  Around 5:10 a.m. Sunday, the Norfolk Southern freight train left the tracks near Isiah Hall Road and Hayes Crossing Road.  Officials say the train had two locomotives and ten cars.  Eight of the ten cars derailed.  Six rolled on their side, including a tanker full of sulfuric acid.  Railroad officials say the train was going from Linwood, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia. There were no injuries reported.  "The concern that we have is the integrity of the tank itself. It's a double-walled tanker," says Thom Berry, a spokesperson for the State Department of Health and Environmental Control. "There are some creases on the outside of the tank and so far it hasn't leaked."  After visual and thermal inspections, no leaks were detected on the overturned tanker. He says that the car is back on the track and will be headed to the Norfolk Southern rail yard sometime this morning. 

One person died and 37 others sustained injuries after a trailer loaded with Sulphuric acid collided with a bus in Salgaa along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.  The two vehicles were reduced to shells after they caught fire on impact.  According to Nakuru Provincial General Hospital Superintendent George Muganya, 27 people sustained minor injuries while 9 suffered chemical burns. Three of the survivors are in critical condition

About 3 tons of concentrated sulfuric acid leaked from a truck on Thursday morning in Pingdu City, Shandong Province, after a crash involving a bus and a tricycle. The truck, carrying 18 tons of the chemical, rolled over in the collision at a junction at about 5am, Qingdao Morning News reported yesterday. Six people were injured by either the crash or the acid, the report said. Firefighters took about six hours to clean sulfuric acid from the road and neutralize and dilute 2 tons of the chemical which had spilled into a nearby construction site.

September 15, 2009

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has served a Breach Notice on the management of Industrial Chemical Company (ICC) Jamaica Limited, in relation to Saturday's (September 12) Sulfuric Acid spill at the company's storage facility close to the Greenwich Town Fishing Village, Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston.  In a release tonight, NEPA said that, under the terms of the Breach Notice, ICC has 30 days in which to construct a bund (embankment or dyke) at the facility. Additionally, the Agency says it will be taking further action against ICC, under the Natural Resources Conservation Act and the Wildlife Protection Act.  NEPA, in partnership with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the Jamaica Fire Brigade and the Marine Police has all but completed its investigations into the spill, which has affected residents and fishing in and around the fishing village, which borders West Kingston and South West St. Andrew.  "Tests have shown that the pH level of the ambient water quality in the area is returning to normal. Both surface water and water taken from a depth of three metres were tested by NEPA's laboratory staff," the NEPA release said.  "There are still residues of the acid in the soil, along the path the material took to the sea. There is a concern that a period of heavy rain could wash out the sediment into the marine environment. If there is no rainfall in the area, the land is expected to be rehabilitated within the next four weeks. However, NEPA is unable to say whether such a washout will have any significant impact on the marine environment.  "Based on laboratory tests, there is no evidence to prevent the resumption of all activities in and around the area affected by the acid spill. ICC is expected to submit a report to NEPA by Tuesday, September 15, 2009."   NEPA also reported that it has convened a four-member team to complete a quick-scan of the coastline along the Kingston Harbour, to identify those enterprises which conduct trade in hazardous substances. Once the scan is completed, the enterprises will be directed to apply for permits for the relevant activities.

July 28, 2009

Charleston

West Virginia

Management at DuPont Co.'s chemical plant in Belle waited more than two days before reporting a toxic material leak to state and local authorities last week, government and company officials confirmed Tuesday.  The leak of sulfur trioxide started at 11 a.m. on July 22, but was not reported to the state until 4:36 p.m. on July 24, according to state Environmental Protection and Homeland Security officials.  No injuries were reported, and DuPont officials described the leak as a minor incident.   "It was essentially a non-event when you get right down to it," said DuPont Plant Manager Bill Menke. "Normally, we wouldn't have said anything."

The leak occurred in a sulfuric acid production unit that was the subject of a major federal enforcement action. In April, DuPont agreed to pay $2 million in fines for not upgrading pollution-control technology when the company added equipment to increase production.   Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said he was shocked that DuPont did not report the incident, especially given the public furor over Bayer CropScience's withholding of information about the fatal explosion and fire at its Institute plant in August 2008.   Initially, DuPont officials estimated the leak at 300 to 400 pounds of sulfur trioxide. Federal law requires companies to immediately notify federal, state and local officials of leaks of 100 pounds or more of sulfur trioxide.  Menke said the company later downgraded its estimate of the leak's size to about 18 pounds -- an amount that would not kick in the required notifications to government agencies.

Last week's incident occurred in the Belle plant's "SAR" unit, where sulfuric acid is produced by burning spent sulfuric acid to form sulfur dioxide. The sulfur dioxide is then converted to sulfur trioxide, and then to sulfuric acid.  The unit had recently been shut down, and had just started back up when a two- to three-inch hole was discovered in a duct on the unit when workers saw "puffs" of sulfur trioxide coming out of it. "It was puffing intermittently," Menke said.  Company officials attached an "elephant trunk" hose to capture the leaking material and funnel it back into the SAR unit, Menke said. The goal was to control the leak until the unit could be shut down for repairs, he said.

But the shutdown didn't occur for 18 hours. And, Menke said, it is unlikely that the "elephant trunk" caught all of the sulfur trioxide that may have leaked from the hole.  "Did the elephant trunk capture 100 percent of that material? The answer is likely not," Menke said.  Menke said that it was not safe to shut down the unit right away for repairs.  "It takes a little time to actually de-pressure and turn it down," Menke said. "There would have been production to be sure we had the facility in line."  Menke said he was personally aware of the incident the day it began, but did not think to call government authorities.  After the unit was shut down, Menke said, a plant environmental official asked for a calculation of the size of the leak.  That produced the initial estimate of 300 to 400 pounds, Menke said.  Based on those figures, DuPont then notified state and local authorities late in the afternoon on July 24, a Friday. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials said that neither they nor the National Response Center were notified.  DuPont officials quickly realized that estimate did not take into account any material captured by the "elephant trunk." A rough recalculation then produced the 18-pound estimate, Menke said. So, they called back state and local officials with the lower estimate, he said.  Jesse Adkins, assistant chief for enforcement at the Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Air Quality, said his agency is waiting for a written report from DuPont before considering further action.

June 17, 2009

Macomb

A chemical leak at Vale Inco smelter facility in Copper Cliff, Ont., near Sudbury, has been downgraded to a Level 1 emergency, which means the incident did not have any impact off-site and there is no threat to the environment or to the general public.  The leak has been stopped and isolated to one area in the facility, according to Ontario's Ministry of Environment spokesperson Kate Jordan. A chemical called Oleum, similar to sulphuric an acid, was leaking.  In response to the leak, Inco initiated an emergency response protocol shortly before noon Monday.  A bulletin, alerting area residents to stay indoors and to turn off furnaces and air conditioners was sent to residents living near the plant.  Staff at the Ministry of Environment are on standby, waiting for the area to be declared safe.

Hermon, Maine

June 3, 2010 - The Colombo High Court today imposed a fine Rs 10 million on a captain of a Turkish vessel for releasing sulphuric acid into the territorial waters of Sri Lanka in Trincomalee.   Senior State Counsel Riaz Hamza appearing on behalf of the State complained that the accused Sir Sidath, the Captain of the vessel "M T Grand of Turkey" had released the hazardous chemical into the Sri Lanka Waters from April 5 to 9, 2009.   The Accused pleaded guilty for the charge and consequently the High Court imposed a fine of Rs 10 million on the captain of the vessel.  In default of the payment of the fine, the accused was sentenced to one year imprisonment.

Sri Lanka government is to take legal action against the Turkey Shipping Company, the owners of the sunken tanker with a load of sulphuric acid off Trincomalee Harbour.  Ranjith Kularatne, Chairman of the Marine Environmental Protection Authority said the legal action would be taken due to the marine pollution caused by the sulphuric acid leaked to the sea from the tanker. Necessary reports are being compiled in this regard, he said.   According to the Marine Environmental Protection Authority the ship, 'MV Grand Bar' finally sank 90 nautical miles off Trincomalee after the Navy managed to tow the vessel to the deep sea.  The Navy confirmed that it went down at a depth of 3,000 meters of the sea.  The tanker carrying 6,250 metric tons of sulphuric acid was plying from Tuticorin to Kakinadan in India when it developed troubles on Monday, April 6. The ship's crew of 19 had been rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy after the ship was crippled 8 kms off Foul Point in Trincomalee. Naval personnel boarded the tanker found that its cargo tanks were damaged and the Sulphuric Acid was leaking into the ballast tanks.

The 19-member crew of the Turkish tanker that sank off Sri Lanka is to return to Turkey next week.  The Turkish Transportation Ministry said that the crew would depart Sri Lanka for Turkey on April 14, news agency reports said.  The Turkish-flagged chemical tanker had been abandoned by its crew off the eastern Sri Lankan port of Trincomalee after its cargo of sulphuric acid began leaking last weekend.  Later the Navy and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority vessels towed the tanker further out onto the high seas to prevent marine pollution near the coast.   The tanker sank totally 50 miles off Trincomalee port on Wednesday midnight.

The crew of a Turkish tanker that sunk off Sri Lanka will return to Turkey next week, officials of the Turkish Transportation Ministry said on Friday.  Nineteen crew members of a Turkish-flagged tanker that sunk off Sri Lanka the previous day would depart Sri Lanka for Turkey on April 14, the officials were quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.  A Turkish-flagged chemical tanker "GRANBA" started to sink off Sri Lanka on Monday after the sulfuric acid it was carrying melted the tanks.  Sri Lankan authorities evacuated Turkish crew members from the tanker, and the crew were in stable condition and staying at a hotel near the port.  The tanker totally sank 50 miles off Trincomalee port the previous day.

The Detroit Fire Department is overseeing a chemical spill clean-up after an undetermined amount of sulfur dioxide leaked from a railroad car today in southwest Detroit.  The 10:30 a.m. leak happened at a city wastewater treatment plant, 9300 W. Jefferson, just west of Zug Island, Detroit Fire spokeswoman Katrina Butler said.  “The railcar had a leak in it,” Butler said. “How it happened, they don’t know. It didn’t hit anything.”  The leak was so small the city’s health department, which responds to incidents that could affect the health of area residents, was not involved, she added.  The car was carrying about 90 tons of sulfur dioxide, but it was unclear how much leaked out, Butler said. A professional chemical handling company was overseeing the transfer of the remaining sulfur dioxide to another railcar this afternoon, she said.

Eight cars from a Union Pacific freight train derailed early Saturday near West Rialto Avenue and South Macy Street in San Bernardino.  The 12:30 a.m. incident involved three box cars carrying soda ash and five tanker cars that previously carried sulfuric acid, San Bernardino Fire Department spokesman Steve Tracy said by phone.  "It was an interesting call with a large potential for hazards, but fortunately it was a low-speed derailment, so we really lucked out," Tracy said. "I can assure you not at any time were any residents in danger."  Two containers of soda ash spilled during the derailment as the train traveled northeast, Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said by phone. Soda ash is used in making soap powders, glass and paper.  The track is near a BNSF Railway line used by Metrolink.  None of the double-walled freight cars were breached, Tracy said. The rail line has an estimated 200-foot right of way, with homes and mobile homes nearby.  The train cars were marked with placards indicating the nature of the loads, and fire officials were able to quickly find out details from Union Pacific.  "They let us know those sulfuric acid cars were empty," Tracy said, with at most a residual of 10 to 15 gallons each.  There also is a Kinder Morgan fuel-transport pipeline adjacent to the railroad. Union Pacific contacted Kinder Morgan, and the line was shut down as a precaution, Tracy said.  The train cars stretched from Mill Street on the north to about a quarter-mile south of Rialto Avenue.   Union Pacific's Richmond said the 80-car train was 4,461-feet long.  The cleanup was expected to be finished Saturday afternoon.

An 18-wheeler loaded with sulfuric acid overturned at approximately 8:30 a.m. Monday on U.S. 63 near Old Union, spilling several hundred gallons of the hazardous chemical onto the westbound shoulder of the highway, according to the Union County Office of Emergency Management. The truck, owned by the Groendyke Transport Co., was traveling eastbound at the time of the accident. The driver was taken to the Medical Center of South Arkansas in El Dorado for non-life threatening injuries.

A tanker truck carrying sulphuric acid has rolled off the Bruce Highway in central Queensland forcing emergency crews to impose a 250m exclusion zone to contain leaking acid.  It is understood both tanks on the B-double tanker were leaking and that the truck came to rest beside the road in long grass.  Emergency services have evacuated the area on the Bruce Highway north of Bloomsbury, which includes a couple of farmhouses, due to inhalation concerns.  Firefighters from Mackay and Proserpine were on the scene and attempting to contain the leaks.  The truck driver, who was out of the vehicle when emergency crews arrived, was taken to Proserpine Hospital with minor injuries.  Paramedics remained on standby at the incident.

Two people were killed and four others were injured in an explosion that sank two ships, causing one to leak concentrated sulfuric acid at a dock yesterday in Hangzhou City, capital of Zhejiang Province.  Environmental protection workers are trying to clean up the acid leak as one of the ships was transporting 250 tons of the chemical, Xinhua news agency reported today.  The explosion occurred on a docked ship about 7:50am in Tangqi Township, Yuhang District. The blast caused it and a nearby ship loaded with acid to sink, the report said.  Nearby residents and factory workers were evacuated to safety yesterday.  Maritime affairs authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion.  The dock was shut yesterday afternoon after the explosion and the priority is to clean up the concentrated sulfuric acid as quickly as possible,’’ Chen Guoqing, vice director of Yuhang District Transport Bureau, told Xinhua.  We will also salvage the sunken ships.  Yuhang District Environment Protection Office officials said they had used liquid caustic soda to neutralize the polluted water and were monitoring neighboring waterways.  As of 11pm last night, the water quality on the whole was normal,’’ they were quoted as saying.  Though the water around the explosion site is still partially acidic.  The two who died were on the ship that exploded while the injured were on ships nearby. Three of the injured are being treated at Yuhang District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and are in stable condition while the other has already been discharged, the report said.

Fire Service Northern Communications shift manager Colin Underdown said the accident happened on State Highway 12 between Ruawai and Dargaville, about 1 km south of the Tokotoka Tavern, about 6.30am today.  Four pumping appliances and a hazardous materials unit were at the scene as well as members of the Northland Hazardous Substances Technical Liaison Committee.  Mr Underdown said there was no word at this stage about any environmental contamination.  He did not have any information on the dangers involved in such an acid spill on the road.  Sulphuric acid can boil and spit dangerously when added to water.  Sue Phipps from police northern communications said there was a "hell mess all over the road", but also there was no indication that there was any danger to the environment or the road.  Two truck loads of sand and a crane were needed at the scene, she said.  The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.  Road diversions were in place and it could be a couple of hours before the road was open again.
Emergency services and hazardous chemical experts are unhappy that an Auckland company's specialist recovery unit took eight hours to arrive at a serious acid spill on a Northland road. Northland Regional Council hazardous substances manager Jerry Nelson said he felt the company was "under-prepared" and its response WAS "very slow". The lack of personal protection equipment for its workers was also a concern. "I'm astounded that people would be involved in decanting sulphuric acid without proper equipment ... I will be writing to Jascol regarding the matter," he said.

Two people were injured in a crash involving a pickup and a semi hauling liquid sulfur on the Lewiston Hill Friday afternoon.  It happened at about 1:00 p.m. Idaho State Police said Kurtis Scheffer, 37, of Blaine, WA was southbound in a semi on the inside lane when, William Slemp, 43, of Lewiston came in from behind in a Toyota pickup on the outside lane to pass.  ISP said Slemp looked off to the left and drifted into the driver’s side of the semi. The pickup collided with the first tank on the trailer, and then Slemp jerked the wheel to the left. The vehicle rolled once coming to rest in an upright position.  Slemp and his 12-year-old son were extricated from the pickup and transported to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. ISP at the scene said both suffered head injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.  There was minor damage to the semi but no sulfur spilled.

A sulfur dioxide release left 29 workers with injuries this morning.  According to Polk County officials, the leak happened at the Mosaic facility on Highway 60 in Mulberry just before 8 a.m.  A company spokeswoman says the plant routinely admits sulfur dioxide, but weather conditions this morning caused the noxious cloud to hug the ground instead of drifting away.  Sulfur inhalation can cause respiratory problems and nose and throat irritation, and 18 contractors had to be hospitalized with varying degrees of those symptoms.  One person was admitted in serious condition.  As of 9 a.m., the sulfur cloud had dissipated and the scene cleared.

At least 2,500 residents were forced to evacuate after a toxic spill in a chemical plant in western Pennsylvania on Saturday.  A corrosive liquid overflowed from a tank at a chemical plant, evaporating into a dense toxic cloud which moved close to the ground in parts of Petrolia, Pennsylvania.  The liquid known as oleum, which resembles sulphuric acid, leaked from a tank at the Indspec Chemical Corp. plant in Petrolia, said plant manager Dave Dorko.  Authorities evacuated 2,500 people within the spill’s range and took them to shelters in nearby towns.  Three residents were taken to the Butler Memorial Hospital, officials said.  The state Department of Environmental Protection said authorities were concerned about the potential for respiratory damage and skin burns. Red Cross officials said they expected to shelter only 50 to 100 people overnight.

Followup

April 13, 2009 - The manager of a western Pennsylvania chemical plant that had a toxic leak in October says the worker who caused the leak was fired.  Indspec Chemical Corp. Petrolia plant manager Dave Dorko says the company plans to meet with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to work out a settlement. OSHA has proposed fining Indspec more than $120,000 for the leak, which led to an acid cloud and forced 2,500 people from their homes for a day. Dorko says Indspec wants to resolve things with OSHA and move on.

May 20, 2009 - State environmental officials have announced a $34,187 fine against a chemical company for a toxic leak that caused and acid cloud that forced hundreds of western Pennsylvania residents to evacuate.   Indspec Chemical Corp. already faces $121,500 in federal workplace safety fines for the leak at its plant in Petrolia on Oct. 11.  About 3,300 pounds of oleum leaked when a transfer tank overflowed because its internal pumps powered by an electrical outlet without an automatic shut-off. Oleum reacts with the atmosphere and the resulting sulfuric acid cloud forced 2,500 people from their homes for a day.

October 5, 2009 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board says a pump used without an electrical safety shut off caused an acid cloud that forced hundreds of western Pennsylvania residents to evacuate last year.  Indspec Chemical Corp. faces more than $150,000 in state environmental and federal workplace safety fines for the leak in Petrolia on Oct. 11.   Oleum leaked when a transfer tank overflowed because its pump was connected to an outlet without an automatic shut-off. Oleum forms sulfuric acid when exposed to air and the cloud forced 2,500 people from their homes for a day.  The Chemical Safety Board says workers often used the outlet without the automatic shut-off to save time on weekends, when fewer workers were present.  Dave Dorko, who manages the plant 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, says the offending worker was fired.

Nearby plant workers and residents across the Mississippi River in White Castle sheltered in place Thursday when a valve at the PCS Nitrogen plant in Geismar leaked sulfuric acid, State Police said.  Roads near the plant and in White Castle were blocked for several hours while officials observed the cloud of sulfuric acid vapors produced by the leak, State Police Sgt. Markus Smith said.  The release “didn’t have  a significant impact and there were no reported injuries,” Smith said.  “It sounded worse than it was,” he said.  Nevertheless, the offices of Homeland Security in Ascension and Iberville parishes issued the sheltering in place warnings to plant workers and White Castle residents.  Sheltering in place means people need to stay inside their homes and businesses, turn off their air conditioners and close their doors and windows, said State Police Trooper Russell Graham, public information officer for Troop A.  Law enforcement officers blocked roads in Ascension Parish leading to the plant and in White Castle until the sulfuric acid cloud dissipated, Graham said.  PCS officials reported a weld broke in the storage tank, causing the acid to leak into the atmosphere, Graham said.  “The tank was leaking 30 to 50 gallons a minute,” Graham said. “They have slowed the leak down to about 10 gallons a minute.”  Graham said water trucks sprayed a curtain of water on top of the cloud to keep it down until the emergency was over.   Workers pumped acid out of the leaking, 700-ton capacity tank until it was empty and the emergency was ended, officials said.

An employee working on a filter at Decas Cranberry's water treatment plant was exposed to sulfuric acid Wednesday morning and rushed to the hospital.  At 1 p.m. Wednesday, Decas Cranberry Company President and CEO Jeff Carlson said hazmat officials were still on the scene, but the employee had been treated and released from the hospital "without any permanent injury".  Police received a 911 call at 7:57 a.m. that a chemical spill had occurred at the company.  Carlson estimated between three and five gallons of sulfuric acid, which is used to clean the treatment's filtration system, spilled and affected the employee's eyes.  "We have safety procedures in place and our employees use full equipment when handling anything hazardous," Carlson said.  "The employee was able to get to a nearby wash station and wash his eyes out immediately which is very important. His skin was not burned, but the fumes came in contact with his eyes. After the fire department is done with their work, we'll assess what happened, why it happened and determine if changes need to be made," he said.  The Fire Department said further details would be available after 2 p.m.

About 2,700 litres of sulphuric acid was spilt at the YIT factory in Ylivieska in Finland on Thursday.  Rescuers said the spill had been caused by human error when filling a tanker lorry.  Some of the acid seeped into the storm drain, but factory workers and firefighters managed to stop it from flowing into the town's water supply.  The fire brigade pumped out some of the acid from the ground and the drain and neutralised the rest with cream of lime.

A gas leak at Richmond's wastewater-treatment plant forced an evacuation of the plant at about 7:30 p.m. yesterday and sent seven people to area hospitals as a precaution.  "We're taking this very seriously," said Robert C. Steidel, deputy director of the city's Department of Public Utilities and one of the first people to respond.  Police said 11 people apparently were affected by the leak of sulfur dioxide gas.  The plant south of the James River near Ancarrow's Landing treats up to 70 million gallons of wastewater a day.  Steidel said the four workers who were on duty at the time detected the leak, immediately evacuated the plant and were treated with oxygen.  Sulfur dioxide can be fatal if inhaled in large quantities, according to medical Web sites.  Four people in the area of the landing who apparently had been fishing were treated at the scene and released. Two other bystanders, an ambulance authority worker and the four plant employees were taken to area hospitals to be examined.  Steidel said the gas is piped from railroad tank cars into a chamber within the plant, where it is injected into water. That mixture is then added to wastewater to rid the water of chlorine before it is discharged into the James River.  The leak apparently occurred in the mixing chamber, which automatically becomes sealed off and airtight when a leak occurs. About 8:40 p.m., hazardous-materials teams determined that the leak had ceased and allowed utilities personnel to re-enter.

OAKEY Abattoir's 700 workers were evacuated yesterday after more than 800 litres of sulphuric acid spilt on site.  Emergency service crews, including a 8specialised Hazardous Chemical Unit, responded quickly to the potentially deadly situation after receiving the call at 9.38am.  All roads surrounding the abattoir were blocked.  Luckily, no-one was injured.  Oakey Abattoir plant manager Bob Bradford said the 800 litres of acid had leaked from a tank located outside the rendering building.  Initially, it was feared 2000 litres had been spilt, however Mr Bradford said the tank only held 2000 litres and that it had been in use for quite some time before the accident occurred.  Mr Bradford said the steel tank had a concrete bunded area around it which contained the spill.  "The tank was reasonably new, actually, as we had replaced the old one recently," he said.  "We're in the process of pumping the fluid from the bunded area to other vessels and then once that is done, the tank will be inspected to find out why it had sprung a leak."  The inspection will be carried out today.  Staff was evacuated and kept outside for 50 minutes before returning to "business as usual".  "We haven't evacuated the plant for anything like this before," Mr Bradford said.  "Everything went as planned, the bunded area worked perfectly and we took the right precautions of evacuating people."

August 4, 2008

Houston, Texas

Valero Energy Corp said production at its 130,000 barrel per day Houston refinery was temporarily reduced after an incident that heavily damaged a sulfur loading tank on Monday morning.  The Houston Fire Department said the tank, which contained sulfur dioxide, ruptured, leading to a shelter-in-place order to nearby residents in Houston's Manchester neighborhood. The shelter order was lifted about two hours after the incident.  A total of five workers -- three contract employees from the refinery and two contractors from nearby facilities -- were taken to hospitals following the incident with breathing problems.  All had been released by mid-afternoon, the company said.  Earlier Valero said four workers were taken to hospitals.  Small homes in the Manchester neighborhood are across local streets from the refinery, which is at the west end of the Houston Ship Channel.  Local television station KHOU-TV showed video of a smoldering tank with a large hole in a portion of its roof at the refinery in a Monday morning news report. Debris could be seen on the ground near the tank.

A tanker loaded with sulfuric acid and bleach burns on US 412 Monday morning. Emergency responders shut down the busy highway both directions while fighting the blaze.  The driver of the truck said he was hauling the chemicals on US 412 near the Keystone Dam, when a tire on his truck blew out.  "I just know that I was suddenly in the rail," he said.  Doug Stevens, the operations manager for the chemical company involved, said bleach could have a reaction to sulfuric acid, but said there was little danger to the firefighters or general public from the smoke released from the fire.  Sand Springs Fire Chief Mark Joslin said there was concern about spraying water on the sulfuric acid. That could produce a violent chemical reaction. That, combined with the potential for runoff of the dangerous chemicals into the lake, played into firefighters' decisions to let the fire burn itself out.  The blaze sparked several grass fires, as well.  Emergency workers shut down US 412 for hours while fighting the blaze. As of press time, there was no word on when it would be re-opened.

South Elgin, Illinois

One man was injured and dozens of firefighters were tied up for several hours Tuesday after an industrial accident spilled an estimated 40 gallons of sulfuric acid in a Custom Aluminum Products building at 410 Division St.  Capt. Burt Lancaster of the South Elgin & Countryside Fire Protection District said a 58-year-old male employee sustained second-degree burns on his arms when the acid began leaking from a pipe about 10:45 a.m. The man, whose name had not been released, was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin, where he was reported to be "in good shape," Lancaster said.  Fire Chief Joe Cluchey said that when firefighters arrived, they found employees working to shut off the spill, but "we also noted product still being released from some of the dispensing equipment. Employees confirmed that this product was sulfuric acid."   Cluchey said 15 workers were evacuated from the anodizing factory, which is one of a complex of seven adjoining buildings operated by Custom Aluminum and the affiliated company Casco Industries. However, when testing revealed the outside air was not dangerously contaminated with fumes, work was allowed to continue in the other six buildings.  The chief said Custom Aluminum managers believed they were able to shut down the leak by shutting down an air compressor. But help from six other fire departments was called to get enough trained hazardous-materials technicians to enter the building, make sure the leaking had stopped, and make sure no liquid acid was leaking into any drains or areas outside the building. One crew of technicians entered the factory wearing impermeable plastic suits and positive-pressure breathing gear, while another crew, similarly equipped, waited outside in case anyone in the first crew collapsed.  Misting fans and tent-like shelters were set up to cool off the heavily encumbered technicians as a cloudless sun beat down through the 90-degree air.  About 1 p.m., the spill was declared to be contained, and a crew from Hazchem Environmental Corp., a private cleanup contractor hired by Custom Aluminum, had arrived to remove the acid and complete repairs.  South Elgin firefighters were assisted by technicians, ambulances and/or standby fire engines from the Elgin, West Dundee and Hanover Park fire departments, plus the Hampshire, Pingree Grove & Countryside, and Rutland-Dundee Townships fire protection districts.

July 10, 2008

A roll over accident on an I-75 exit ramp had environmental clean up crews busy this morning.  A semi carry sulfuric acid tipped over when it tried to take the exit ramp from State Route 65 to 75.  A small amount of the acid leaked out in the crash.  The State Highway Patrol says that the ramp had to be closed for a short time so that the spill could be cleaned up, but only a small amount is said to have gotten out.

Firefighters worked yesterday morning to contain a spill of sulfuric acid at the Maryland Chemical Co. on Childs Street in South Baltimore.  A Fire Department spokesman said a contract worker was injured when some of the chemical spilled on his hands.  Chief Kevin Cartwright said the worker, whose age and identity were not available, was taken to a hospital.  He said the man had been trying to repair a 4,000-gallon tank when it ruptured about 9:30 a.m.  Most of the spill was contained by a berm set up for that purpose, and Cartwright said there are "no concerns environmentally."  The Fire Department contained the spill by 11 a.m.

July 2, 2008

Rochester, Minnesota

A tank carrying approximately 175 gallons of sulfuric acid fell off the back of a semi truck on Highway 54 near Grant Avenue in Portage County this morning.  Authorities closed the highway between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids to clean up the spill. The road was still closed at noon. Hazardous materials teams from the Whiting Fire Department and Waupaca county were dispatched to the scene.  The tank was laying in the center median of the highway, and some of the acid pooled in a nearby ditch.  According to Lt. Dan Kontos of the Portage County Sheriff’s Department, the truck was leaving the So-White building on 54 when it turned west and the tank fell.  “There was a vapor cloud when I arrived on the scene,” Kontos said. “I could smell it as soon as I got out of my truck.”  Authorities will set up a series of booms and dikes to keep the chemical from penetrating the ground and reaching the ground water. The next step will be to apply soda ash to neutralize then remove the tank, Kontos said.  “Conditions are good right now because the wind is out,” said Plover Fire Chief Tim Kluck. “At this time we aren’t evacuating the nearby businesses.”  The chemical is used to clean concrete and can be harmful if inhaled, Kluck said.
The state Department of Natural Resources, the Portage County Sheriff’s Department, the Plover Police Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol also responded.

Kiev, 14 June: Sulphur dioxide leaked out at [chemical plant] Stirol Concern in Horlivka, Donetsk Region, at 0600 [0300 gmt] today during the launch after repairs of a facility to manufacture sulphuric acid, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency has learned from the press service of the territorial directorate of the state mining inspectorate in Donetsk Region.  A chemical cloud covered the territory of the state-owned coal mine Shakhta Oleksandr-Zakhid.  The press service said that 17 mine workers had complained they felt bad and had undergone a medical examination.  A total of 15 mine workers have been diagnosed as having poisoning and admitted to hospital.

Car positioning appears to be what caused a 28-car train derailment in Northfield, according to a railroad official.  “The derailment at Northfield on March 31 was determined to have been caused by the way the various train cars were placed or positioned in the train makeup — the way the loaded cars and empty cars were positioned in the train,” said Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific.  The 104-car train headed southbound on its way to North Platte, Neb., derailed north of Greenvale Avenue around 2 a.m. March 31, causing a tanker to leak about 655 gallons of sulfuric acid. There were no injuries nor evacuations, although Davis said he was checking to see if any residents had filed claims with the railroad of suffering poor health as a result of the derailment.  Other than the tanker that was half full with sulfuric acid and another tanker that held peanut oil, the rest of the train’s cars were either empty or carrying stick lumber, Davis said immediately after the derailment.  Davis said Friday in an e-mail that the railroad is running simulations to determine exactly how the makeup of the cars contributed to the wreck. Once they have that information, Davis said, they’ll review it with all employees to ensure proper loading and empty car placement. Federal law also requires that the railroad file a report on its findings to the Federal Railroad Administration.  “An example of how train makeup can contribute to a derailment — if there are too many empty cars in front of heavy-loaded cars as the train is coming to a stop, the heavy cars’ weight will ‘push’ an empty car off the track,” Davis said.  The FRA’s report on the derailment is pending, according to its Web site. At the time of the derailment, FRA spokesman Steven Kulm said it would be months before its investigators would complete their report.

Chinese tanker truck carrying more than 30 metric tons of sulphuric acid has crashed in southwest China, spilling its load into a river and causing "serious pollution," state media said on Wednesday.  The accident occurred on Tuesday, the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, when the truck ran into the guard rail on a highway linking Anning and Chuxiong in the mountainous province of Yunnan, Xinhua news agency said.  "Some of the sulphuric acid has flown into a roadside river and has caused serious pollution. Many fish were killed," Xinhua said.  No human casualties were reported, but up to 1,000 vehicles were stranded along a section of the highway, it said.  "The government has sent for another truck to load the sulphuric acid still in the truck," Xinhua said. It did not say if the spill had affected any drinking water supplies.

No one was injured when a rail car carrying sulfuric acid came off the tracks at GAC Chemical Corp. and released a small amount of the chemical.  The accident occurred while GAC was taking delivery of four or five carloads of sulfuric acid that came in on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. The car derailed due to human error, he said, and came to a rest leaning at a 45-degree angle.   The car's connection to the rest of the train prevented the rail car from tipping completely over.  Once the crane arrived, Dittmeier said the tipped car was hoisted and loaded onto an empty car, so it would remain upright. The process took between two and three hours, he said, to give GAC personnel time to inspect the tracks and rail car for any damages. Dittmeier said there appeared to be no damage to either. Then, the crane was used again to reset the car onto the track.  When the car was being transferred the last time, the repositioning caused it to "burp," according to Dittmeier. This caused about 10 gallons of sulfuric acid to spill onto the top of the railcar, a problem that was easily contained.

Update December 14, 2007 - European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) presents experts' report on oil spill in Kerch Strait.  It concluded that the sunken sulphur did not pose an immediate acute risk to the environment but recommended that the sunken ships with sulphur on board be salvaged so that the sulphur can be appropriately processed.

A road train carrying three trailers of sulphuric acid overturned near Hughenden, in central north Queensland.  The Flinders Highway was closed after the eastbound road train crashed about 30km east of Hughenden.  Police said the road train was passing a truck and sedan travelling in the opposite direction when its third trailer veered into a ditch before swerving across the road and overturning.  None of the sulphuric acid was spilt in the accident and there were no other environmental concerns.  No one was injured in the accident.

A woman crashes into a tank causing an acid spill near Taft.  A hazmat crew was called out after the vehicle had put a four inch gash into the side of a tank carrying sulfuric acid.  The acid was coming out at a slow rate, but did cause a small puddle.  Hazmat determined there was no immediate threat so now it's up to the owner of the land to clean up the mess.  Sulfuric acid is often used in water that farmers use to irrigate.

Louisiana Highway 520 in Claiborne Parish was shut down this morning after a truck hauling sulfuric acid wrecked.  The spill occurred about 1 a.m., half a mile south of the Louisiana 161 intersection in the north part of the parish, State Police said.  There were no homes in the immediate vicinity of the wreck and no one was evacuated, State Police said.

A section of U. S. Highway 59 was shut down due to a hazardous chemical spill.  An 18 wheeler that was carrying about 40,000 pounds of sulfur, crashed into a stalled vehicle on US 59 in Timpson around 7:30 p. m. Monday.  The truck caught on fire and spilled its load all over the highway.  The initial danger was pretty high because of the fumes being emitted from the burning sulfur.  A couple of firemen had to be transported to the hospital due to exposure to sulphur dioxide.
 
The fire took more than four hours to put out.  The fire department initially used water on the fire which enhanced the fire.  A hazardous materials team had to use a special foam to get the flames under control.  The crash site was far enough away from homes that no evacuations were needed.

A fire at the J.R. Simplot Co. fertilizer plant at 200 W. 225 S. caused the evacuation of a 1-mile radius around the plant, as a deposit of sulfur was ignited.  The cause of the fire and extent of its damage were unknown.  East End, West End and Rupert fire departments responded to the fire.  About every 15 minutes, firefighters in two-man teams took turns scaling a ladder to reach the fire through a hole in the roof of one of the plant's buildings. By 7 p.m., the fire was mostly under control.

Nine people were treated and released from hospital following a gas leak at an Inco Ltd. acid plant in Greater Sudbury June 15.  Inco spokesperson Cory McPhee said the plant had a power interuption Thursday at 9:30 am which caused the SO2 (sulphur dioxide) leak into the atmosphere.  "Normally the plants shut down, but in this case one of the fans in the booster house kept going so there was gas sent out that shouldn't have been," said McPhee.  The acid plant is located inside Inco's smelter complex and is used to capture SO2 gas that would normally go up the Super Stack, and turn it into sulphuric acid.  Eight contractors and one Inco employee were sent to hospital after being exposed to the sulphur dioxide. Some were sent home for the day while others came back to work. The gas causes irritation in the throat and lungs.  It (gas) just dissipates  . . . they were able to address the problem but why it happened is still under investigation," said McPhee.  Inco has launched an internal investigation into the matter. McPhee said the company will "file a report of an unusual occurrence" to the Ministry of the Environment, which is standard procedure.

Part of Lake Road near WaferTech in Camas was closed for nearly two hours after a tanker truck spilled about a gallon of sulfuric acid onto the road.  The acid was contained and cleaned up with no runoff and no damage to the road.  Sulfuric acid is a byproduct of WaferTech's manufacturing process, during which silicon wafers are etched with circuitry to make computer chips. The company sells the acid to other manufacturers.  The spill, from a Chemical Transfer Company vehicle, may have been the result of an improperly secured hose, which had been used to drain the acid from WaferTech tanks into the truck.  The vehicle's driver stopped as soon as he realized the chemical had spilled, at about 1:30 p.m.  Southeast First Street was closed between WaferTech's west entrance and Northwest Friberg-Strunk Street until about 3:15 p.m., when cleanup efforts were complete.  The Camas Fire Department worked with WaferTech to neutralize the chemical and clean up the spill.  WaferTech will submit a full report to the state Department of Ecology, which may prompt further review by the agency.

The truck was traveling Northbound on I-476 (Blue Route) and began to exit to get onto I-76 (Schuylkill Expressway) when it overturned around 7:53 a.m.  Smoke was noticed coming from around the vehicle where the load had dumped onto the road and the shoulder of the road.  The smoke was actually corrosive sulpher dioxide gas.  The dry sulphur had apparently mixed with something else causing a massive chemical reaction.  Crews in full hazmat gear arrived.  At the crash scene, air samples showed gas concentrations 30 times the level that can cause respiratory distress.  Fortunately, the plume quickly dissipated.

A sulfuric acid leak at the Dow plant caused only a minor amount of damage and no one was injured.  The leak at the plant in the 3300 block of Fifth Avenue South was small and contained by plant personnel.  A Level 1 alert was issued during the hour-long incident, which started about 1:15 p.m.  A Texas City Fire Department unit was dispatched to monitor the situation.

An overturned tractor-trailer near Newark early today spilled diesel fuel on the highway and caused lane closures along I-95 well into the afternoon.  Initially police reported that sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid had spilled from the truck, but later the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control determined that it was just fuel from the truck that leaked.  The trailer also contained numerous individual containers of hydrofluoric acid, which was of concern due to the high flammability of the chemical.

A semi-truck drove into a passenger car, which became lodged under the trailer.  The collision then ruptured an acid load in the truck and started a fire.  Three people in the passenger vehicle suffered serious injuries with one listed in critical condition.  The truck driver, as well as three firefighters and four DPS officers, were treated for inhalation problems.  The truck was carrying 1,500 pounds of sulfuric acid, phosphorus acid and sodium hydroxide.

Two 55-gallon drums of sulfuric acid punctured when a truck overturned on Interstate 84 near the southern Idaho town of Burley, closing the highway for about three hours.  Police say the westbound tractor-trailer tipped over on a cloverleaf.  An unspecified amount of sulfuric acid spilled after the accident and the westbound lane was closed.  A state-contracted crew cleaned up the spill after officials with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Homeland Security determined the leak had stopped.

A sulfuric acid leak at Weyerhaeuser's main Longview plant shot the liquid 45 feet in the air after a valve malfunctioned while a truck was unloading acid.  The leak occurred in a decontamination area and a crew of 15 hazard management workers were nearby to clean the spill up within three hours time.  No one was injured.  The decontamination area had a built-in shower, which made the clean-up easier.

February 23, 2007

A retired Bastrop Police Department officer is in stable condition in an Arkansas hospital after he was injured when the truck he was driving overturned in southwest Arkansas, spilling sulfuric acid onto the roadside.  Chris Branum, 55, was driving south along U.S. 71 near Ogden, Ark., just after 1 p.m. on Feb. 17 when he apparently lost control of the tanker truck he was driving. A spokesman with Arkansas State Police Troop G headquarters said Branum's skidded almost 150 before it entered the median, where it traveled another 80 feet before it overturned.  According to a story published by the Texarkana Gazette, rescue crews arrived on the scene but were initially kept away from the scene because of the leaking sulfuric acid.  Branum was transported to CHRISTUS St. Michael Health Center in Texarkana and treated for lung and head injuries. On Wednesday, he was reported in stable condition.  The State Police spokesman said no citations were issued following the wreck.

While sulfuric acid was leaking from a ruptured valve on an overturned tanker truck Saturday, the driver was rescued by emergency crews and passing motorists on U.S. Highway 71.  Branum was southbound on U.S. Highway 71 about a mile south of Ogden near the Arkansas Highway Police weigh station when the accident happened.  Authorities say Branum lost control of the rig as he entered a curve in the highway. The truck is owned by Phoenix Transport. Investigators also say gusty west winds may have contributed to Branum losing control of the tanker truck, which was loaded with sulfuric acid.  Firefighters used shovels to dig a trench to direct the flowing acid to a culvert. They also used a smoke ejector fan to blow possible fumes away from the firefighters who were shoveling the dirt.  A backhoe was later used to dig a deeper trench to contain the acid.

Sulphur dioxide was accidentally accidentally released into the air and the gas seeped into Paulsboro High School during first period, causing headaches, feelings of nausea and some instances of vomiting in as many as 15 students and a handful of faculty members.  Valero officials tested the interior of the high school after the release measuring sulfur dioxide at levels between zero and five parts per 1 million parts of air.  The smell of rotten eggs lingered in Paulsboro until the late afternoon, almost disappearing entirely by 4 p.m.

A chemical spill in Tillsonburg caused an evacuation, and sent 7 people to hospital.  At around noon a chemical spill of Sulphur Dioxide happened at Guardian Industries.  Two employees were taken to hospital, were treated and released, five other also went to the hospital were found not to have suffered any effects.  Neighboring businesses and six homes were also evacuated.  Roads in the immediate area were closed for several hours.  The Tillsonburg Emergency Control Group was activated but an emergency was not declared.  The Spills Action Centre was contacted as well as the chemical supplier have dealt with the clean up.

A gas cloud from the DuPont plant located at 12501 Strang Road forced officials to issue a shelter-in-place and shut down a freeway.  Officials said oleum was released from the unit that produces sulfuric acid.  "We had an upset in that process. As a result, we vented a significant amount of sulfuric acid mist," said Ken Martin, DuPont's safety supervisor.  Oleum came out of a 300-foot stack for about 10 minutes.  The unit was shut down and the release was stopped but not until after a large cloud covered the area.  "The cloud itself was a very, very fine sulfuric acid mist. I personally drove through the cloud multiple times in my personal car. The thing I would recommend people do if you thought you were exposed to a significant amount of it or your vehicle, something like that, wash it off this afternoon," Martin said.

Residents south of the plant and along Highway 225 were asked to shelter-in-place until it was lifted at 1 p.m.  Residents in the Pasadena subdivision of El Jardin were under a shelter-in-place until 1:30 p.m.  La Porte Independent School District schools were included in the shelter-in-place.  Highway 225 was shut down in both directions between at Highway 146 at Sens Road.

No one was injured.

Nearly 100 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled a parking lot at French Paper Co. in Niles.  There were no injuries and no equipment was damaged.  A container tipped while being transported by a  forklift.  Mill staff contained, neutralized and cleaned up the spill.  Nobody was injured and at no time was anyone in danger.  Sulfuric acid is used in paper making for pH control.  French Paper employees and emergency personnel used a powder to soak up the sulfuric acid and it was then placed in a dumpster and French Paper is waiting approval from state agencies to dispose of it.

A spokesperson for the Polk County, Tennessee Sheriff's Office says that they have been forced to shutdown Highway 64 due to a sulfuric acid spill. A tanker truck has overturned on the Highway near Parksville Lake and is apparently leaking acid. Emergency and Hazardous Materials Teams are on the scene, or enroute to try and contain the leak. There are no homes or businesses in the immediate area so no evacuations are underway. However, again, Hwy. 64 is closed in both directions near Parksville Lake.

A train spilled around 35 tons of sulphuric acid destined for the copper industry after being derailed by broken tracks.  The train was carrying some 72 tons of the acid which was headed for the country's largest copper mine, the Indian-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).  The accident occurred 50 miles north of the tourist capital Livingstone.  Railway officials told the local press that unless the spill could be quickly neutralized with lime, there was a good chance that rain would wash it into a nearby canal, posing a danger to local people, livestock and wildlife.  This was the second major accident in as many weeks for KCM, which last week allowed untreated effluent from a plant in the town of Chingola to spill into a nearby river.

A truck driver was filling his truck with the dangerous liquid when something apparently went wrong. He’s been taken to a local hospital. The extent of his injuries remains unclear.  Between 500 and 1000 liters of the acid reportedly leaked, but apparently did not get into the water, where it would have combined to produce a poisonous gas.

Teams from around the region yesterday were trying to recapture about 1,500 gallons of sulfuric acid that escaped from a tank near the Granby town line Monday night and forced the cancellation of school in South Hadley and the evacuation of 88 households in Granby and South Hadley.  A police officer was treated for exposure to sulfuric acid fumes.  In Granby, 68 households were evacuated as a precaution following the spill about 8 p.m. on Monday at Presstek Inc., 755 New Ludlow Road.  The liquid leaked into a cement holding pit.  On Tuesday, the evacuation was extended to include 20 homes on East Street in South Hadley because the spill formed a gas inside the building.

One eastbound lane of Hwy. 401 near Milton remains closed this morning after diesel fuel and sulfuric acid leaked from a tractor-trailer after it collided with a car last night.  Sulfuric acid leaked onto the highway in a “small amount,” which was “immediately contained”.  Emergency crews were called to the eastbound 401 just past Hwy. 6 where the two vehicles collided, sending a female in the car to Hamilton General Hospital with what appeared to be non life-threatening injuries just before 7 p.m.  All eastbound lanes at the site of the collision were closed down as hazardous materials crews clean up the acid and fuel, and the tractor-trailer is removed from the ditch.  The Ministry of Environment has also been called in to investigate.

Hazardous material crews are at the scene of a spill at an east side chemical plant.  Crews were called just before noon on Tuesday to Chemsol Products, at East 163rd Street and St. Clair.  Officials said there was a sulfuric acid spill there when a 3,000-gallon tank leaked about 1,000 gallons into a secondary containment dike.  About 20 gallons leaked into the ground, a small amount of which may have leaked into the sewer system.  No boil alerts have been issued and there have been no evacuations.

Prince George RCMP were called to  help out in diverting traffic along Highway 97 last night after a southbound CN train had a fire on several sulfur cars.  The Bear Lake fire department had evacuated homes adjacent to the tracks in Bear Lake as the train moved south  to a location where the fire could be fought without increasing risk  to neighbours.  The Prince George Fire Dispatch and Bear Lake Fire Department decided the best way to deal with this kind of fire was with a  water fog so they wouldn't create any dangerous gases.  The train moved to a spot about 2 kilmetres south of Bear Lake, near Hart Lake.  That spot was chosen as there was more than enough water supply, and any possible fumes would not  endanger the  community to the north.  The Bear Lake  Fire Department responded with two pumper units and crews in breathing aparatus.  They extinguished the fire and the train continued southbound to a spot on the outskirts of Prince George where Prince George Fire Crews  inspected the cars.  Because there needed to be a safety zone of 800 metres from the tracks, all traffic on highway 97 north of the city was blocked.  It took  firefighters about 45 minutes to ensure the  cars were safe, and traffic backed up for about a quarter of mile in either direction.   Thee were no injuries, but the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

An accidental gas release at the Valero refinery in east Houston sent nearly 30 workers to area hospitals, where they were treated for respiratory complaints.  Alarms sounded about 9:30 a.m. when sulfur dioxide gas from a sulfuric acid tank escaped into the atmosphere at the refinery on Central near Manchester.  It prompted an evacuation of workers and a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding neighborhood and several schools near the refinery that lasted about 45 minutes.  The leak was quickly contained, and workers were allowed back inside the refinery shortly after 1 p.m.  The refinery had just begun a 40-day maintenance turnaround that closed the entire plant.  Sulfur dioxide gas leaked from a sulfuric acid tank

Silver City, New Mexico

September 6, 2006

The state Environment Department is requiring the tracking company to clean up groundwater contamination from a spill of sulfuric acid in the crash near Silver City.  The acid flowed along N.M. 90 and about a half mile down an arroyo on Phelps Dodge Mining Co. property 10 miles south of town after an Aug. 14 crash between two vehicles _ one of them a Chemical Transportation Inc. truck hauling the acid for Phelps Dodge. 
  Low pH in groundwater is not a primary health concern, but such low pH causes contaminants such as heavy metals to more easily dissolve into groundwater.  Although Phelps Dodge is not responsible for the spill, the mining company is helping the trucking firm with the cleanup.
 

October 6, 2006

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) - Officials say it’ll take an additional three to four weeks to clean up a sulfuric acid spill on New Mexico 90, south of Silver City.  A tanker truck loaded with about 3,000 gallons of acid collided with a pickup truck August 14^th.  About 500 gallons of the acid spilled on the highway and adjacent property.  The tanker is owned by Arizona-based Chemical Transportation Incorporated.  A company official, Jack Smith, says the cleanup likely will cost more than $250,000.  Crews have excavated more than 12,000 cubic yards of soil.

Just after 11:00, the chemical company on Industrial Way, was restarting its machinery following a brief maintenance shut down.  When the equipment fired up, a plume of sulphur dioxide was released, and the wind carried the emissions to the Rustad Sawmill plant.  Thirteen sawmill workers were rushed to hospital in Prince George Wednesday after being overcome by fumes from a nearby chemical plant that manufactures sulphuric acid and liquid sulphur dioxide.  Fire officials say a large dark cloud of sulphur dioxide drifted across the tracks from the nearby Marsulex plant to the sawmill on Wednesday morning.  But workers at Canfor's Rustad planer mill didn't develop breathing difficulties for several hours.  Seven of them were taken to the Prince George Regional Hospital by ambulance, while the other six were able to make their own way to the emergency ward.  The 13 victims were treated with oxygen for 90 minutes and then released.  Canfor's Prince George manager Mark Feldinger says workers are angry and frustrated by the incident, and he says there are a lot of questions that need answering.  "We'll be dealing with the appropriate regulatory agencies and Marsulex to find out what their procedures are, what the regulatory requirements are and what we need to do to protect our employees."  The sawmill was closed for a few hours with all employees sent home, but it has resumed operations with the afternoon shift.

Update November 17, 2006

A Chinese shipowner was arrested on Friday following a spill of sulphuric acid which forced more than 1,500 residents to evacuate and killed fish by the thousands.  Xu Changjun, 41, would face unspecified criminal charges for the spill in August on the Grand Canal, a 900-year-old waterway in east China, Xinhua news agency said.

Update July 6, 2007 

A Chinese court sentenced a ship owner and captain to three years in jail for not preventing an accident that dumped 200 tons of sulfuric acid into the 900-year-old Grand Canal last year, state media said Friday.  The Yuhang People's Court in east China's Hangzhou city on Wednesday convicted the cargo ship's owner, Xu Changjun, and the captain, Liu Guanhe, of allowing their vessel to dump the chemical into the water last August, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The report said the ship had been damaged and repaired a month before the accident but failed to undergo a required safety check before being put back into operation.  The two men tried to use liquid soap, glue, and iron flakes to patch holes in the ship when it started to leak and kept sailing until it capsized, it said. They alerted local authorities only after two thirds of the ship was underwater.  Local authorities were forced to pour 900 tons of liquid alkali into the waterway to neutralize the acid after the spill.  Xinhua said the men were also ordered to pay 23,200 yuan ($3,050) in compensation to two downstream fishing companies that suffered economic losses from the pollution.
China's waterways are dangerously polluted after decades of rapid economic growth and lax enforcement of pollution controls.  A quarter of the length of the country's seven main river systems are so polluted that even touching the water is harmful to skin, the vice minister of China's State Environmental Protection Agency, Pan Yue, told state media earlier this week. Seven of the nine major lakes the agency monitors were equally toxic.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Sunday assured the public that a barge loaded with sulfuric acid, which was reported early Saturday to have sunk off the waters of Bauan, Batangas, did not cause a major spill in the Batangas Bay.  A conflicting report stated that the ill-fated Billy Star spilled a minimal portion of its 1,270 tonnes of sulfuric acid as it sank on Batangas Bay.

Lieutenant Commander Darryl Vargas, duty officer of the Coast Guard regional office in Batangas City, said they had completely contained the toxic chemical from the Billy Star barge.  The sunken vessel had been cordoned off to avoid any potential environmental destruction it might bring.  Despite the heavy rains brought by typhoon “Domeng,” Coast Guard personnel were able to bring the barge to a drydock.  The barge has been undergoing repair since June 14 at the shipyard of Keppel drydock in barangay (village) San Miguel, Bauan town when the incident was reported at around 12:40 a.m. Saturday.  The barge came from Romblon and was undergoing repair after its bullet tank containing 1,270 metric tons of sulphuric acid was damaged by typhoon “Caloy” last month.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on Monday warned Batangas City residents against eating fish caught in Batangas Bay after a barge loaded with sulfuric acid sank off the coast of Bauan town Saturday.

July 6, 2006

THE Philippine Coast Guard will start this Thursday or on Friday a cleanup of the Batangas Bay, where a barge containing more than 1,000 tons of sulfuric acid sank in late June, an official said Wednesday.  The Coast Guard has hired Hideya Waste Management Corp. to do the cleanup, and a British insurance company that covers the sunken Billy Star barge will shoulder the cost, said Antonio Principe, regional environmental director for the Southern Tagalog region.  The sulfuric acid will be transferred from the four “bullet tanks” of Billy Star to another vessel, where the chemical will be neutralized, Principe told reporters.  The neutralized acid will then be disposed 25 nautical miles southeast of Lubang Island

A chemical spill sparked an emergency clean-up and a potential environmental disaster was narrowly avoided when a tanker carrying 25 tonnes of sulphuric acid began to leak.  Police and emergency services cordoned off an area at the Caltex roadside truck stop on the Flinders Highway about 6.50am as the boiling sulphuric acid threatened to leak into nearby Stoney Creek.  Queensland Fire and Rescue Service teams, police and ambulance officers spent most of the day in attendance while Chemtrans employees cleaned up the spill.  Chemtrans North Queensland operations manager estimated about two tonnes of sulphuric acid had leaked into the ground.  A valve on the tank, which had been replaced just a week earlier, had failed, causing the chemical to spill.

The sulphuric acid was headed for a mine in the Northern Territory where it would be used to extract metal from ore.  About five tonnes of hydrated lime was used to neutralise the acid spill.  A backhoe removed the contaminated lime and soil from the area and took it to a recognised dump site.

The remaining acid was decanted into another tanker.

A section of Frame Park was blocked off with bright yellow caution tape Monday morning as authorities dealt with a chemical spill in a small stream leading into the Fox River.  About 350 gallons of sulphuric acid entered the Fox River through a storm drain when a container full of sulphuric acid broke open at the International Truck & Engine Corp.  When the container broke attempts were made to contain the spill within the boundary of the company but the attempts were not successful and the acid entered the river.

Police and fire dispatchers say six cars of the C-S-X freight train left the track around 4 a-m. No injuries are reported but the mishap is blocking traffic at Tremont and Somerset Streets. Authorities are checking unconfirmed reports that one car was carrying sulfuric acid, but they say there is no leakage and no evacuations have been ordered.

Sulfuric acid splashed on two workers sending them to a hospital today and forcing the evacuation of a Westside aluminum fabricator.  Wayne Township firefighters said 20 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled inside Magnode Corp., 4151 W. Washington Street, about 10:45 a.m.  About 100 employees were evacuated and Marion County sheriff’s deputies stopped traffic on Washington between Holt and Lynhurst roads.  Employees inside the plant were transferring the acid from a delivery tanker.   “They were trying to fill a sulfuric tank,” co-owner Marianne Walter said. “There was too much pressure and it blew a pipe and acid sprayed.”   Two workers were taken to Methodist Hospital. No conditions were immediately available, but fire officials said their injuries were not life threatening.  Walter identified one of the victims as supervisor Norm Carpenter. The name of the other worker was not released.  Firefighters were cleaning up the spill.

A broken valve allowed sulfuric acid vapors to be released from a tanker truck at the Stepan Co. chemical plant yesterday, prompting authorities to halt service on a nearby section of the River Line light rail for two hours.  State police said the incident was reported about 10:20 a.m. after vapors were discovered coming from the acid-filled tanker.    Stepan employees quickly evacuated the area, as state troopers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and the Burlington County hazardous materials team rushed to the plant.  The vapors released from the tanker were concentrated in an area of about 50-by-50 feet, but because the wind was blowing toward the railroad tracks, NJ Transit, as a precaution, suspended service on the River Line between the Roebling and Bordentown stations.  State police said hazardous materials team members were able to shut off the damaged valve and stop the release. The vapors that had already vented soon dissipated, state police said.  Emergency personnel left the plant and River Line service was restored by about 12:30 p.m., state police said.

April 26, 2006

Ireland

A Montana truck driver was killed in a collision with another rig on Interstate 80 in eastern Nevada.   Investigators said a rig driven by Forrest Smith, 48, of Crescent Valley, was westbound on the interstate, climbing a steep grade at a slow speed last night when a tractor-trailer driven by Nathan Folsom, 54, of Ennis, Mont., drove up behind him.   Folsom apparently underestimated Smith’s speed as he closed in.  He hit the brakes and steered sharply to the left, but clipped the rear of Smith’s vehicle.   Folsom was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected. He died at the scene.   Smith’s last trailer contained sulfuric acid, but it was not breached and no leakage was detected. He was not hurt.  The interstate was limited to one lane in each direction for about seven hours.

A toxic chemical spill triggered a rush-hour alert at Hamilton docks as firefighters wearing breathing masks raced to contain a sulphuric acid scare on the Bermuda Islander container ship.   Emergency crews hosed down the top deck of the boat, where the bulk of a 250 litre drum of the substance had leaked during the trip from New Jersey.  Nobody was injured in the incident.  Lt. Wenda Godfrey, of the Bermuda Fire Service, said it appeared that one of six sulphuric acid tubs stored on a palette on the Islander had slipped off and leaked.  The palette was removed from the Islander once it arrived in Hamilton.   Some of the sulphuric acid still in the leaking drum appeared to spill on the docks before firefighters covered the affected area in sand.  Inquiries were ongoing to find out who owned the chemical at the centre of the scare. “At this stage we do not know who it belongs to,” she added, stating that it looked like a strap had slipped off one of the drums during the voyage.
Lt. Godfrey said such spills were rare. A fire service emergency plan to deal with chemical spills swung into action yesterday, although an emergency support unit on the dockside, dealing with hazardous material leaks, was not needed.
Six fire trucks and eleven firefighters attended the call out just before 9 a.m. yesterday, when the rush-hour commute was in full flow.  Bermuda Islander arrived in Hamilton at about 8.15 a.m. And Maurice Brimmer, superintendent at Hamilton docks, said staff were aware of the spill as soon as the boat berthed, carrying a total of 123 containers.  “We were alerted by the personnel on the boat,” added Mr. Brimmer, who said he was not certain how the chemical spilled on the deck, although a hole in the drum may have been behind the leak.  An eyewitness said that a morning downpour led to the acid “smoking up” from the floor around the palette, before firefighters quickly moved to sand it down during the clean-up operation.

A fire broke out during the start-up process of the SA-3 plant in Gujarat State Fertilizer Company (GSFC) near Chhani on Tuesday evening.  Five plant staffers sustained 30 to 40 per cent burn injuries in the mishap.  The incident created alarm and confusion among angry staffers when the injured were not provided with proper medical aid on time.  The accident occured around 6 pm during the start-up process, following a shut-down process of the SA-3 plant two days back.  A back fire from the acid unit that trapped five men.   Later, the fire also caused damage to the acid pipeline carrying sulphuric acid to the unit.

A truck carrying sulphuric acid rolled over on a highway in northwestern Ecuador, killing the driver and spilling its chemical cargo into the river that provides the drinking water for the city of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuavisa television reported.  The accident occurred near the town of Alluriquin, some 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) southwest of Quito, on the highway that links the mountainous region of the country to the coast.   The truck driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel, Ecuavisa reported, citing witnesses.  Sulphuric acid spilled into the Toachi River, but officials in the city of Santo Domingo de los Colorados said the chemical should not pose a hazard to the city's residents.  Residents of Alluriquin, however, told Ecuavisa that white foam formed on the surface of the Toachi River and they feared the chemical would kill fish and other wildlife.

Approximately, 16 cubic metres of concentrated sulphuric acid was spilled after a tanker veered off the road and into a ditch on trunk road 2 in Finland on Thursday. The accident happened in Pori in the Satakunta province.  Rescuers said the road could not be safely reopened for traffic before midday.  No one was hurt even though the tanker ploughed through the median barrier and through oncoming traffic. The road surface was extremely slippery at the time of the accident.

A massive clean-up operation on the Brussels ring road ended at about 11pm, some five hours after a collision involving two trucks.  The tail-end collision took place on the internal ring just before the Vilvoorde junction.  About 5,000lr of acid made up of phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid and sulfates was spilled across the road surface by a leaking tanker.  The DHL truck was carrying 20,000lr of acid when the accident took place at about 4pm.  No one was injured in the collision, but the acid spill forced one side of the motorway to be sealed off, leading to long traffic delays.  Residents and companies were urged to keep windows shut and to stay indoors.  The acid is hazardous for the skin, eyes and breathing.  And the effects of the acid worsen when mixed with water, meaning emergency services could not simply hose the liquid off the road. A truck with chalk was called in. Once mixed with chalk, the acid is neutralised.  The remaining 15,000lr was pumped from the damaged tanker to another DHL truck and the road was given the all clear at about 11pm.  Motorists on the ring road were diverted via the A12 and the exits Grimbergen and the military hospital of Neder-over-Heembeek. Traffic jams extended to 20km.  Motorists were ordered to keep their windows shut and turn off their car air conditioning systems.

A tanker truck carrying sulphuric acid went off the road in the early morning leading to spillage of the entire content of 30 tonne on the ground and contaminating a nearby rivulet.  This caused a fear among the people in the area as the vehicle continued to remain in the same position till late evening.  The tank truck was carrying sulphuric acid from Tuticorin destined to the Zuari Industries Ltd at Zuarinagar.   Immediately on noticing the contamination, the fire officials along with officials of ZIL emptied 800 kg of chunnac (chalk) into the rivulet in a bid to neutralise the acid content.  Residents kept on thronging to accident spot since morning and were told by the authorities of the hazards that the acid could pose.

A Canadian National (CN) train hauling sulfuric acid overturned just before 2 a.m. at a switching site on the company-owned tracks forcing the evacuation of about 250 southern Illinois homes in a half-mile radius of the accident.   Emergency teams are evaluating the situation and have implemented a 1/2 mile evacuation zone as a precaution.  The train was hauling four cars, including one that contained paper and two cars that were empty.  There was no leak from the tank car even though it rolled down an embankment.  Track crews were able to put the overturned sulfuric tank car on a new set of trucks, and the car was to be taken to a siding near Dubois today to have the sulfuric acid contents transferred to another tank car.

Three years ago, on February 9, 2003, another Canadian National Railway train derailed in Tamaroa, Illinois, about six miles from Wendesday's accident.  In the 2003 derailment, toxic chemicals spilled from the train, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 residents from a three-mile radius for more than a week.

February 28, 2006

About 2,000 pounds of sulfuric acid leaked from a tractor-trailer after a wreck on Interstate 71.  No homes were evacuated, but the southbound lanes were closed indefinitely for the cleanup.   The collision of two tractor-trailers — the other carrying isopropyl alcohol — may have been caused by a crash a short time earlier and about a quarter-mile away.

When the trucks crashed, Oldham County police sought help from the Jefferson County hazardous material team and the state fire marshal, as well as other area fire and emergency units.  Many emergency crews could reach the scene only after the southbound lanes were closed, allowing them to drive the wrong way in those lanes toward the crash site.  One of the truck drivers was flown by helicopter to University Hospital.  The alcohol carried in one of the trucks did not leak.

A cargo ship carrying more than 460 tons of sulfuric acid on board sank into the Yangtze River in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.  No spill was immediately detected.  One crewmember was rescued while two others were missing.  The ship named Susuqian No. 498 was a transporting vessel from Suqian City of east China's Jiangsu Province.  It ran into reefs and sank with three people aboard around 03:40 am in the morning.  The local government shut down the water intake of water factories along the Yangtze River and was monitoring water conditions in the area.  The local maritime rescue team has begun salvaging the sunken ship and continues to search for the two missing crewmembers.

Three southern Chinese cities were struck by chemical spill scares this week following traffic accidents involving tanker trucks.  The spills happened as authorities try to solve a three-week crisis over a toxic slick that polluted a northeastern river, forcing the shutdown of water supplies to millions and raising alarm bells in Russia as it flows into that country.

The city of Hechi in the southern Guangxi region went off high alert on Friday after winds dispersed an "acidic mist" of poisonous yellow phosphorous escaping from a tanker truck that overturned and ruptured on Wednesday.  Many people in the city of 200,000 were "overcome with nausea from the fumes".

Also on Wednesday, 23 tonnes of sulphuric acid poured out of a dangerously overloaded truck that overturned near Guangxi's capital of Nanning.  Fields around the crash site were burnt black and tests had shown land further away was severely polluted.

The string of chemical spills and coal mine disasters raises questions about the cost of China's breakneck economic boom as it rushes to meet insatiable demand for energy and chemicals.

A tanker full of oleum located outside Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL)  plant compound leaked oleum.  The factory manager called at 0145h informing the villagers about the leakage and to cover their faces with damp cloths and evacuate the village immediately.  The area outside the factory was covered in thick white fumes.  Neighbours and some youths were sent to wake up others.  The Gogamba police sub-inspector sent constables to the village to hurry up the evacuation but provided no police vehicles.  No vehicles or guidances were provided for evacuating the village. 

A mock evacuation drill had been conducted by the district authorities some months back but none of the guidelines were followed by the authorities themselves.

Workers at the factory reported that after the leakage occured, no siren was sounded.  They had no wind of what was happening outside the factory.  Management had vanished from the unit in their private vehicles. On discovering the leakage, workers ran for their lives leaving the plant running.

The Goghamba sub-inspector and the mamlatdar arrived at the factory where the tanker had leaked.  But with no technical know-how they were of little help.  There were no sprinklers that could be turned on to ward off the fumes and even the fire-fighters ran out of water.  Ultimately, the tanker was allowed to empty out its entire load of 11,000 litres of oleum and the fumes cleared in eight hours due to natural wind course.  There was no loss of life.   After the incident, about 392 people consisting mostly of women and children from the village reported sick at the Ranjitnagar public health centre after inhaling sulphuric acid fumes produced by oleum.

Authorities say residents here were forced to evacuate their homes after a train derailed.  About eight cars left a track owned by Stillwater Central Railroad on a stretch located north of Britton Road between Hiawasse and Sooner roads. Authorities say some of the cars were tankers. Firefighters could not locate the engine that had been pulling the train. An Oklahoma City Fire Department hazardous materials crew responded to the scene.   Reports are that molten sulfur was in the tanker that overturned.

Four workers at J.R. Simplot's Don plant were treated and released from hospital care Saturday night after an undetermined amount of sulfur dioxide was accidentally released into the air in their vicinity.  A valve was mistakenly left closed within a system of ducts that transports the gas. Computer monitors showed there was a system malfunction as gas built up at the valve. After the system was shut down at 9:15 p.m., sulfur dioxide seeped from a large vent for between 10 and 15 minutes.  The sulfuric acid plant had been shut down for repairs, and workers were in the midst of starting it back up.  A female laboratory technician complained of nausea, a headache and a sore throat - classic signs of sulfur dioxide inhalation. She and two men who were working outdoors within the facility were transported to the hospital, where they were given oxygen and pain relievers.  A driver for Simplot's private plant ambulance, which transported the three workers, also asked to be checked at the hospital.  Simplot will also investigate whether mechanical failure or operator error is responsible for the shut valve.  The incident was determined to be a Level One emergency, meaning it was contained within the facility, there is no cleanup necessary, no physical damage to the facility and it's appropriate for Simplot to conduct the investigation on its own.

Two workers were killed and six injured following two explosions in Century Rayon Factory at Shahad near Kalyan on Friday. Police held the company's management and some private contractors carrying out installation work on the factory premises responsible for the accident. The first blast took place at 9.45 am and instantly killed two workers.  They were working on a 55,000-litre tank that was being installed in the factory.  The tank was filled with water to check for leaks.  The water in the tank came in contact with sulphuric acid that seeped out from an overhead pipe.  The gas formation increased the pressure inside the tank leading to the explosion.  The workers were thrown away to a distance by the impact of the blast.  It is likely that hydrogen gas formed inside the tank.

A several-mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike was closed for two hours after a tractor-trailer, initially believed to be carrying sulfuric acid, struck a car and caught on fire.   Hazardous materials response crews were called out because the tanker had a placard that indicated it contained sulfuric acid.  The fire department placed a protective layer of foam around the truck while the cab fire was extinguished.  The tanker turned out to be empty.  The tanker apparently sideswiped a car while making a lane change.

A sulphuric acid leakage was reported at the decomposed pipeline of the sufala plant of the public sector Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers (RCT) Limited at Trombay.  According to RCF officials, a minor gas leakage was noticed in the pipeline between 12.30 pm and 1.00 pm, and it was soon brought under control. No casualties or damages were reported, the officials said. Fire brigade sources said that four fire tenders, one water tanker and one oxygen vehicle were rushed to the spot to bring the gas leakage under control.

In yet another mishap involving a vehicle carrying hazardous liquid, a tanker carrying 18,000 litres of sulphuric acid swerved off the road and turned turtle near the Forest Rest House at Poinguinim in the wee hours of Friday.  The tanker (KA-01-D -315) was proceeding to Zuari Nagar, Vasco, for unloading. The two occupants of the vehicle including the driver sustained injuries.  According to Canacona police, the driver of the vehicle drove his vehicle at the extreme left side. The soft soil could not withstand the weight of the tanker and the vehicle overturned by the roadside.  SDPO Quepem Jayprakash Nagvekar along with Canacona PI Braz Menezes and Margao Traffic PI Darmesh Angle rushed the site.  The slight leakage from the vehicle prompted Canacona fire services to rush to the spot. Canacona Fire Station Officer P Prabhu Desai told Herald that he immediately used one can of foam and neutralised the hazardous liquid.  Later, experts from Zuarinagar, Govind Lotlekar and Chetan Despande also visited the site to initiated measures to prevent further leakage from the tanker.  This is the second mishap involving a tanker carrying hazardous liquid within a gap of eight days, after a tanker carrying naphtha turned turtle near Bendulem on August 19.

A tanker truck filled with sulfuric acid fell on its side in north Fort Worth, and tied up traffic near the Interstate 35W-Highway 287 split.  Hazardous-materials crews said there is no danger to drivers -- only delays -- while crews cleaned up the mess and moved the truck. Less than 10 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled, according to officials.  The accident occurred on southbound I-35W at the Highway 287 northbound ramp. The 18-wheeler was uprighted and lanes were opened on the freeway by 8 a.m.

About 100 gallons of a sulfuric and nitric acid mixture spilled from a tank truck traveling on Highway 101 in San Jose causing traffic backups on the highway.  The tanker truck spill was caused by a leak and not an overturn, so it was easier for crews to contain and clean up.    An additional 200 gallons was captured in containment vessels.  The rest of the acid was pumped directly from the leaking truck into another tanker. The spill was on the dirt, so it was relatively easy to pick up using a loader.  The dirt was scooped up and put it in barrels and then transported it to an industrial waste site. ``We were able to collect the fluids that were leaking, so we were able to stop the vast majority of the fuming. That really minimizes the problem for us. As long as you can keep shoving tubs under there, you can handle it for a while.''  The trouble began shortly after 9 a.m. when the truck driver hauling 538 gallons of the acid mixture pulled over to the southbound side of the highway just north of Bernal Road to try to fix a corroded valve.  Alarmed motorists called the California Highway Patrol to complain of a stinging sensation.  The truck driver was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for observation. He inhaled acid vapor and some of the acid splashed on his clothes, but he didn't sustain any serious injuries and was released.  There was no record of any problems with California Tank Lines, the registered operator of the truck, over the last 15 years.

A barge carrying 425,000 gallons of sulfuric acid ran aground and began leaking. Workers noticed the partially submerged barge about 2 a.m. Tuesday en route to a Solutia Inc. terminal about 1.5 miles north of the FM 2004 bridge.  The Coast Guard is monitoring the sulfuric acid spill.  The barge was moved about a quarter-mile to open Chocolate Bayou to make removal of its cargo easier.  Approximately 126,000 gallons of acid was taken off tank barge MGM3030 onto a smaller barge. The acid was taken to a storage facility.  Officials were conducting tests to determine the direction and density of the acid plume.  The area is considered ecologically important because it has significant wetlands and marshes that provide habitat for wildlife.  The tank barge was grounded Monday evening (August 15) when it started to sink. The starboard bow of the barge is now partially submerged.  The tank barge and the cargo are owned by Martin Product Sales.  The transfer of 430,000 gallons of sulfuric acid to another vessel from the barge was completed late Thursday, August 18.  The sulfuric acid was stored in two separate containers, but only a small amount leaked into the bayou.   The cause of the barge sink is unknown.

A man was flown to the hospital Thursday morning, after he was suddenly splashed with sulfuric acid at the American Express processing facility in Taylorsville.  Officials say that sulfuric acid is routinely used at the facility as part of the company's processing, and it somehow came into contact with the victim's face and arm. It wasn't immediately clear what the unidentified man was doing at the time or how he came into contact with the chemical.   He was flown to the University of Utah Hospital's burn unit in good condition.  
Officials say the man was treated rather quickly, thanks to a decontamination unit that is constantly stationed at the facility.  This is the second chemical spill at the American Express processing center this month.  A large barrel of sulfuric acid sprung a leak there on August 5th. More than a dozen people were evacuated from the building in that incident, but no one was hurt.

A head-on collision between a small pick-up truck and semi-truck carrying a full load of sulphuric acid claimed one life and injured two other people.  The accident occurred at about 11 p.m. near mile marker 279 on the west side of Bylas, about 2 miles from the Bylas bridge.  The driver of the pick-up truck was traveling west on Hwy. 70 when he crossed the center line and ran head-on into a semi-truck carrying sulphuric acid.  The collision caused the semi to roll, killing the driver of the vehicle, whose name was not released at the time of publication. He was declared dead at the scene.  Because the dome of the acid truck was breached, the scene was declared a hazardous materials situation, and the San Carlos Police Department was required to reroute traffic to the Coolidge Dam area until 2 p.m. on Saturday, causing delays for travelers on Hwy. 70. San Carlos firefighters on the scene were treated at a Phoenix hospital for injuries related to acid exposure.  The truck involved in the accident was carrying a sulfuric acid solution to be used in mining operations at the Phelps Dodge Morenci mine.  It was being transported by CTI trucking company.

June 3, 2005 

A railway tanker ruptured and spilled its toxic contents in a rail yard in South Salt Lake. The tank car was carrying nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ammonia and acetic acid in a water solution, according to the Utah Department of Health.  Lab tests also indicate phosphoric acid may have been present.  The tank car was not designed to carry this mixture of acid.  A federal investigation is under way.  And the companies involved are scrambling to explain what happened.  About 6,000 residents were sent packing and traffic was halted on the state's busiest highway.  The car's manifest, which is supposed to travel with the tanker and detail its contents, did not account for every chemical inside.
The tanker's owner, Kennecott Utah Copper Corp., contends the car should only have been holding one chemical: sulfuric acid.
Officials from the company believed to have filled the tanker, Houston-based Philip Services Corp., claim the rail car was properly loaded and labeled for shipment when it left their command in Fernley, Nev., near Reno. And the company says the car's manifest - which was signed by a representative of Union Pacific - notes the tanker was being used to transport sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids.
Philip Services officials call the 12,500-gallon concoction a "waste corrosive liquid" - a mix of acids and water - and say the mixture's contents comply with the terms of their contract to use the Kennecott tanker.
A Kennecott spokesman pointed out that the tanker is clearly labeled for sulfuric acid use only.
On March 2, the tank car was sitting in South Salt Lake's Roper Train Yard, according to Union Pacific.  Early Sunday morning, yard workers noticed acid bubbling from three holes in the tanker. It wasn't until late Sunday, however, that emergency officials felt they had a grasp on what was in the tanker and what should be done.

About 11,000 tons of sulfuric acid leaked from the Kemira Kemi factory in central Helsingborg, forming a poisonous gas cloud over the city of Helsingborg that forced citizens to stay indoors for four hours.  Thirteen people were injured, but none seriously.  No fatalities were reported.  The acid leaked out shortly after 4 a.m. (0830 IST).  Carina Mohlin, director of the Helsingborg Lasarett hospital, said six factory employees were taken to the hospital, some with teary eyes and respiratory problems, but none with serious injuries.  Two police officers and five others were also taken in with similar symptoms, but all 13 had been cleared from the hospital by 11 a.m., she said.
The acid had leaked during the loading of a ship.  A portion of the acid spilled into the sea causing a chemical reaction that formed a steam cloud containing droplets of sulphuric acid.

Freight train derailed in Southeast Zimbabwe spilling 40,000 litres of sulphuric acid from one tank car into a stream feeding the Mtshabezi River

A tanker carrying sulphuric acid capsized late on Monday following a collision with a container ship, causing a major pollution concern.

Much of the highly toxic sulphuric acid on board a tanker which capsized in the German port of Hamburg has escaped into the river Elbe around the harbour.

Out of 960 tons of sulphuric acid originally on board the vessel ENA 2, only about 430 tons is still in its cargo tanks, said Werner Marnette, CEO of vessel owner Norddeutsche Affinerie, Europe's largest copper producer.  "We believe today that when the ship capsized, the sulphuric acid escaped through its eight ventilation chambers into the Elbe," Marnette said.  Remaining acid in the ship was considerably diluted by river water three days after the original accident, he said.   Police incident commander Peer Rechenbach said it was a "regrettable mistake" that authorities had until now believed that most of the vessel's cargo was still on board.  Hamburg's city environment agency it did not believe the river Elbe had suffered major environmental damage. But shortly after the accident local television stations showed large numbers of dead fish floating in the water.  Salvage teams with floating cranes were on Thursday afternoon still continuing the operation to turn the ship upright so that the remaining acid can be pumped out. The port continues normal operations.

A chemical spill in Guelph Friday injured one person and forced the evacuation of businesses, homes and a school.   The spill of sulphuric acid and ferric chloride, which combine to create toxic hydrochloric acid, happened around 8 a.m. at the Gay-Lea Foods facility in the north end of the city.

Police evacuated a five-block area surrounding the plant as a precaution.   The evacuation order was lifted around 10 a.m., but people have since been told to stay indoors and keep their windows, doors and ventilation systems shut until further notice.  The spill reportedly occurred while an acid tanker truck was unloading materials at the plant.

Authorities shut down the Basilone Road offramps on Interstate 5 on Wednesday morning when a truck carrying sulfuric acid leaked the corrosive liquid.  The truck's tank was too full as the big rig was traveling south on the freeway, said Inspector Scott Simpson of the Camp Pendleton Fire Department. He said some of the oily, colorless liquid started to seep out.  The driver pulled off at the Basilone Road exit just before 9 a.m. to get help at the gate to the Marine base, officials said. A San Diego County hazardous-materials team was called.About 10 to 15 gallons of the liquid spilled, but no one was hurt, said a California Highway Patrol officer.The Basilone Road offramps on both sides of the freeway were shut down to keep drivers away from the spill. A traffic alert was issued for the area. The spill was cleaned up about 2 p.m., officers said.

WMC ordered an external review of the accident-prone Olympic Dam after a leak at its sulphuric acid plant put an end to copper production for up to three weeks at a cost of $1.5 million a day.   The acid plant shutdown will lose WMC 600 tonnes of copper and 12 tonnes of uranium oxide a day in production, and is expected to trim pre-tax earnings by as much as $31.5 million.

WMC was shooting for up to 180,000 tonnes of copper production in 2003, but the replacement heat exchanger will take between two and three weeks to install at a cost "in the order of $3 million". As a result, the new output could be as much 12,600 tonnes lower.

A barge operated by Martin Product Sales LLC containing 235,000 gallons of sulphuric acid capsized at Sterling Chemical’s No. 2 dock.  When the barge flipped some of the contents spilled.  The area was evacuated because emergency crews deemed there was a risk of an explosion.

The lack of equipment and equipment to safely move or contain the acid prompted the decision to drain the contents of the barge into the water way.

During the draining operation water entered and mixed with the acid in the barge causing a cloud of steam to form.  As well, a budge formed in the barge hull from the apparent build-up of hydrogen gas in the hull.  Holes were drilled in the hole to allow any hydrogen gas to escape.  Water sprays were used to prevent any gases from escaping.

Draining of the barge was completed on November 13, 2003.

The barge is equipped with several compartments and if a compartment leaks or is breached, the cargo can shift causing the barge to flip.

The barge was towed to Newpark Shipping in the Houston Ship Channel where it will be examined and repaired.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident.

Hazmat officials said there's minor concern about 2,000 gallons of sulfuric acid that leaked into a tributary of Tinkers Creek. The leak was from a 6,000-gallon storage tank at Univar on East Highland Road.  Employees reported the leak when they noticed an odor around the tank. Twinsburg service department crews used heavy machinery to build three dams on the creek to contain the spill. The cleanup consisted of reducing the pH level of the acid with soda ash and sodium bicarbonate. Then the contaminated water was vacuumed up and fresh water was used to flush the area. City officials said the public is not at a high risk since the area is largely industrial and the main concerns are environmental.

The 1974 built 5339 DWT Chemical tanker ‘Metin Ka’, believed to be laden with 5,000 tonnes of Sulphuric Acid, ran aground at Yenikoy Point in the Bosphorus Strait at about 1530 local time on 20th December 2002. The Turkish-flagged tanker was on its way from Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, bound for Mersin.

Divers had been engaged to check the ship’s hull and there have been no reports of acid leaking from the tanker as yet. The Master reportedly tried to anchor but the vessel drifted because of strong winds and ran aground about 10 metres off the shore of Istanbul's Yenikoy residential area. Attempts are being made to refloat the vessel by her own means.

A massive chemical spill sparked a huge clean-up operation in Bristol. Emergency services were called in when concentrated sulphuric acid leaked out into the road at a tanker washing station. But when water was added to the acid to try and wash it away, a chemical reaction created a cloud of gas.  Military fire crews spent more than six-and-a-half hours clearing up the spillage in the Avonmouth area of the city on Friday evening.

The alarm was raised at 1516 GMT on Friday when Green Goddesses were called to deal with a spill of sulphuric acid at the Pickfords Vanguard site. It is believed water was added to what was thought to be 2,000 litres of diluted acid.  But the acid was actually 98% concentrate, and the water caused a chemical reaction, releasing a huge plume of gas.

A police spokesman said: "Military crews were called to a tanker washing facility in Avonmouth where sulphuric acid had leaked into the road. "Chemical fumes were being discharged from an underground storage tank."

He added: "A Red Goddess fire engine and a breathing apparatus response team (BART) were sent to the scene from the temporary fire station at Flying Fox in Bristol. Local water company Wessex Water said there was no danger of the acid getting into the water supply.  Gillian Winstone, spokesperson for Wessex Water, said: "There is no concern at the moment.  "Wessex Water is monitoring the pumping station, in case any of it goes into the sewers.    "There is no danger of it getting into the water supply as this is totally separate."

Gulfport, Mississippi, USA

A sulfuric acid spill at U.S. 49 and Airport Road sent a Gulfport motorcycle patrol officer to the hospital and shut down northbound travel for two hours.

An estimated 15 to 20 gallons of the hazardous chemical spilled onto the highway at the traffic light after a trailer hauling cleaning supplies broke loose from the driver's van, officials said. Police charged the driver with running a red light and spilling his load.

Sulfuric acid is a corrosive acid that can cause severe respiratory problems and can become volatile when mixed with water, said Gulfport Fire Chief Pat Sullivan. The motorcycle officer, who witnessed the accident and began redirecting traffic until help arrived, was treated for respiratory problems. No one else was injured.

A railcar containing cyclohexanone oxime exploded at BASF’s Freeport, Texas site rattling windows miles away and causing an evacuation of the facility.BASF is still investigating the cause of its explosion and any required corrective action. Besides the railcar, the explosion damaged a nearby storage tank, releasing an undetermined amount of oleum, a concentrated sulfuric acid. The chemicals involved are used in the production of nylon. Overall, four workers had minor injuries and three of 16 units at the site were shut down.

About 600 litres of sulfuric acid leaked on Sazecska ulice in Prague 10 - Malesice at around 9:30 a.m.   The acid leaked from a container on a lorry.  The Prague sewer system has been damaged by the recent flooding and the Prague water treatment plant is not functioning, thus the acid would go directly into the Vltava River.  The acid leaked out of the container over a 50 metre long area and damaged the underbelly of five passing cars.

"Some container or tank fell off a lorry, allegedly," Daniela Razimova from the Prague police administration said as to the cause of the spill. It is not clear, however, whether this was caused by an accident.

Investigators say a break in a section of railway could be to blame for a potentially dangerous derailment in Fort Worth. Two cars overturned late Thursday night in the 100 block of Northside Drive, between North Main Street and Interstate 35-W. What made the situation dangerous was the cargo. The cars were carrying about 26,000 gallons of sulfuric acid. Fire officials said the cars are not leaking and they did not have to evacuate anyone from the area.  Crews expect to have the overturned cars upright within the next few hours. No one was injured.   Both the railway cars and the track belong to Fort Worth Western Railroad.

Two Christchurch companies were yesterday fined $20,000 after a factory worker was severely burnt when he slipped while pouring concentrated sulphuric acid into a vat.  The worker, Wayne Poskitt, suffered serious chemical burns to his face, arms, and legs. The Department of Labour immediately forced the factory, Jenkins Biolabs, to stop its method of having a staff member fill a bucket with acid and then climb on a chair to pour it into the vat.   "The process adopted can only be described as a Heath Robinson one," said Judge Michael Green at a sentencing in the Christchurch District Court yesterday. "A layman could have seen the potential problems with that."

Judge Green said: "Employers are not expected to be perfect. They are not expected to foresee everything that ultimately happens, but they are expected to look at their work practices intelligently and decide whether they amount to potential hazards. They are also required to see that their employees carry out the appropriate safety measures."

Jenkins Biolabs, which manufactures agricultural products, was charged with failing to ensure that its employee was not exposed to a workplace hazard, resulting in serious harm.

Soiltech Limited, which develops processes and products for Jenkins Biolabs, had set up the production system involving moving and pouring the concentrated acid from an open bucket. It was charged because one of its employees - the scientist who developed the process - had been carrying out the same procedures, though he was not involved in an accident.  The Christchurch service manager for Occupational Safety and Health, Margaret Radford, said yesterday the victim had suffered serious burns which continued to affect his daily life.

Hundreds of fish have been killed after a Scottish stream was polluted with sulphuric acid.  Brown trout have been seen trying to leap out of the water after a factory pipe burst and flooded the River Almond in Newbridge with bright orange preservative.

Huge amounts of ferric sulphate were spilt from Grampian Country Foods, a chicken factory.  Residents watched dozens of fish at a time spring from the water to escape the chemical, which changes to sulphuric acid on contact with water.  Ferric sulphate turns to a dilute sulphuric acid when it is mixed with water and the burning sensation would have been driving the fish out.

Lloyd's of London, the world's largest marine insurer, listed the freighter as belonging to Dundee Shipping and Trading Ltd.  According to a spokesman for rescue services dispatched to the region, the risk of pollution was minimal because sulfuric acid dilutes quickly on contact with water.  The spokesman, speaking on condition that his name not be used, said there was a possibility that some slight residue might evaporate and be blown north by the winds.  The French Transportation Ministry said it had ordered its Accident Inquiry Office to investigate why the freighter, which it said could carry 6,000 tons of sulfuric acid, sank.  The accident briefly raised the specter of another environmental disaster in a country still scarred by a massive oil spill in 1999, and a spate of other scares in its waters.  An aging oil tanker, also Maltese-registered, broke in two off the coast of Brittany in December 1999, spilling millions of liters (gallons) of foul-smelling oil into the Atlantic and onto beaches and the rocky coast.  Last October, another tanker, the "Ievoli Sun," sank in the English Channel with toxic chemicals aboard but little leakage was reported.  The "Balu" crew members were winched off the sinking boat by a Spanish rescue helicopter and transferred to two vessels nearby.  Winds of around 60 kph (37 mph) were blowing in the region on Tuesday morning, and there was a swell of up to five meters (16.5 feet).  The freighter sank in 4,600 meters (15,180 feet) of water, and no efforts could be made to retrieve the cargo before it sank.

A Union Pacific train derailed spilling about 10,000 USG of sulphuric acid forcing about 96 residents to evacuate overnight.  The 107 car train was north bound from Nogales to Tucson when 19 cars derailed about 20 miles south of Tucson.   Two of the cars spilled their cargo of acid.  Two crew members were not injured but one firefighter was treated for inhalation of acid fumes.  The train was travelling about 41 mph.

Recently, lots of fish and shrimps died in Hedi Reservoir of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province. Investigation shows that over 3 tons of sulfuric acid was discharged into Jiuzhou River from a titanium powder factory in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The local EPA urgently controlled the pollution in the area. The water quality in Jiuzhou River returned to normal, and stabilized.

Downstream sampling indicated some impact to the inflow point of Hornet Lake.  Sampling at the discharge point of the lake showed no impact.

Approximately 780 tonnes of acid was released.

Michael Feeley, deputy director of the EPA’s Superfund Division, inspected the plant yesterday and said the cleanup by state health officials and Brewer Environmental Industries appears to be going well. But Feeley said the EPA’s investigation has just begun and he would not comment on what violations, if any, have been found.  He did, however, describe the incident as a “significant spill” that the EPA is taking “very seriously.”

“When we heard the initial numbers, we viewed this as a significant release into the environment; not just a release, but an air release too,” Feeley said. “Sometimes the air releases are more risky and more hazardous.”

Feeley said the EPA’s request for information focuses on four issues, including the time it took Brewer to report the spill and whether there were previous releases and how they were reported. The other questions involve Brewer’s handling of hazardous wastes on the site.

On Thanksgiving Day, workers at neighboring Chevron Refinery discovered that sulfuric acid was leaking into a concrete sump and gravel trench along Brewer’s fence line. The acid mixed with chlorine bleach in the sump and created toxic chlorine gas.  The cleanup is expected to be completed in about a week.

After the week-long release of sulphuric acid into an estuary in southern Brazil, a local judge has ordered an immediate stop to the dump operation after protests by Greenpeace and local groups. The salvage team and other agencies involved in the operation were given 24 hours to find transfer tanks to receive the highly corrosive cargo and 48 hours to remove all 100 tons of fuel from the ship.

A Maltese flagged tanker, MV Bahamas, released more than 6,000 tons of sulphuric acid into the Lagoa dos Patos estuary at the southern tip of Rio Grande do Sul. Greenpeace and local NGOs testified to the prosecutors' office on Friday and demanded the immediate halting of the dump into this important estuary. The authorities monitoring the environmental impact of the accident have published no information on the impacts of the release of acid.

MV Bahamas ran aground three weeks ago and started to leak sulphuric acid. Environmentalists were able to stop about half of the original 12,000 tons of acid cargo from escaping into the environment. Over 6,000 tons of acid have been released already into the marine environment with the full support of Brazilian Government officials.

Six persons and more than 20 sheep were killed when a truck collided head on with a tanker loaded with concentrated sulphuric acid early in the morning in the Dadri area. The two vehicles overturned after the collision which caused a traffic jam for two hours.   A truck carrying sheep, going to Ghaziabad from Etawah, collided head on with a tanker, loaded with concentrated sulphuric acid, parked at the road side near village Dhoom Manikpur around 3 am in Dadri area. The truck collided with the tanker crushing two men repairing the tanker. Both the vehicles overturned after the collision leaving four occupants of the truck dead. Only one person, who was sleeping at the top of the truck, survived the accident.

Fumes of the acid spilt on the road led to breathing trouble for bystanders. The matter was reported to the police immediately but the fire brigade reached the spot only after one-and-a-half hours after the incident and cleared the traffic jam.

Timing
Ontario, Canada

A 26 cars of 52 car CP Rail train derailed at 1pm about 80 kilometres northwest of Sudbury.  Five of the 26 cars slid down the embankment making contact with the Spanish River, and at least one leaked about 7 tonnes of sulphur into the water.  While the sulphur was loaded into the cars in liquid state, it had frozen by the time of the derailment, said Thurston, and remained solidified along the shore and the bottom of the river Thursday.

The leaked sulphur has congealed like a solid lava stream from one of the cars running down into the river and, as long as it remains cold, it will stay that way and the spillage shouldn't contaminate anything, he said.

Officials have tested water quality both up and down river form the accident and have found no signs of contamination. 

Amoco Polymers
Augusta, Georgia, USA

Amoco Polymers
Augusta, Georgia, USA

Olympic Dam, WMC
Australia

Seventy workers at Olympic Dam have walked off the job after the second "life threatening" leak of dangerous sulphuric acid in two weeks, union officials claim. The workers walked off the job from the smelter area at Olympic Dam yesterday morning after several were overcome by fumes. A union official said 23 workers had been "gassed" by the emissions and one had collapsed from the fumes.  A spokeswoman for the Department of Mines and Energy confirmed they had been notified of a sulphuric acid leak by Olympic Dam operators Western Mining Corp.  It follows an incident at Roxby Downs two weeks ago when 10 workers were taken to the plant's medical centre after being overcome by sulphur dioxide fumes.  A safety audit undertaken by a union occupational hygienist yesterday afternoon recommended the workers not return to the site until "structural damage" to the pipe had been fixed. Union and management will meet this morning to determine when the workers will return.

A 22,400 GT bulk carrier carrying a mixed cargo of 33,000 tonnes of grain and animal feeds was under port pilotage to her discharging berth with one tug made fast aft and two others in attendance. The weather conditions were good and, as the bulk carrier had a bow thruster and good manoeuvrability, the Master and Pilot had agreed that it was not necessary to make a tug fast forward to assist with a planned turn to starboard. The size of the bulk carrier and the usual preferred turn position meant that her bow would swing close to a chemical tanker which was moored at a berth adjacent to the turning basin. Partly because the forward tug had not been connected the Pilot chose to keep power and headway on to help with the turn. The vessel was turning to starboard and still making headway when the bulbous bow came into contact with the side of the chemical tanker, which was discharging a cargo of 4291 tonnes of sulphuric acid.  Although the chemical tanker was holed below the waterline which caused her to list rapidly to about 35º there were no injuries and there was no pollution as a result of the accident.

Despite official assurances that 13,000 liters of sulfuric acid and copper accidentally spilled into Loa River Dec. 15 by the El Abra copper mine have had no impact on plant or animal health, communities located closest to the accident report unexplained livestock death in the days immediately following the accident, and express disillusionment with the government's handling of the incident.   

The Regional Irrigation Authority (RIA) reported Friday that water acidity in the area has increased significantly, prompting Mining Minister Benjamin Teplizky to order El Abra to contract services with the Mining and Mineralogical Investigation Center (CIMM) for the next two months to monitor the area's water supply.

El Abra company officials say they had solicited the same precautionary studies days earlier, without a positive government response. 

While discounting any adverse health or environmental effect, Minister Teplizky expressed serious concern about El Abra's failure to promptly report the accident, thus putting the area population at greater risk.

Regional Intendente Tomislav Ostoic publicly denounced El Abra's handling of the incident last Thursday, saying the accident was not reported to regional health officials until Dec. 18, three days after its occurrence, and inspection officials were not allowed on company property to review the accident site until 11 days after the event.

The impact of the original spill of sulfuric acid on Dec. 15 was apparently made worse when company employees that same morning "washed" the spill from company grounds, says a report by the RIA.   The estimated 150,000 additional liters of water added to the spill in the "washing" process assured that the sulfuric acid mix was able to make its way to the Loa River, where it then flowed to the Conchi reservoir, which holds 2.7 million liters of water. 

Alberto Acuna, a member of the government's regional environmental committee, said he believes the El Abra sulfuric acid spill violates Article 64 of the new Environmental Base Law and could subject the company to a fine of 500 Unidades Tributarias each month (US$27,600).   Legal action is doubtful, though, says Acuna, because the regulations relating to the new law have yet to be promulgated.

A runaway train derailed in the pre-dawn hours in Leadville, CO, killing two railroad employees and injuring a third. The February accident sent a "river" of sulfuric acid down a snowy mountainside and across a highway, contaminating rescue workers and early morning commuters alike.

The 82-car train was traveling at about 65 mph in a 15 mph zone, according to a spokesman for the National Transpor-tation Safety Board. Two locomotives and 41 cars of the Southern Pacific freight train derailed in the wreck, which occurred at 5:30 a.m. along U.S. 24 north of the town. Two tank cars containing 54,000 gallons of sulfuric acid ruptured in the incident. Two other tank cars containing the acid derailed but did not rupture.

According to witnesses, sulfuric acid flowed downhill in "three or four streams," flooding across the highway and forming pools in a parking lot on the other side of the road. Fortunately the acid did not reach the nearby Eagle River, which is the municipal water supply for several communities.

Dozens of drivers and rescue workers sought treatment at nearby medical facilities for exposure to fumes, with symptoms ranging from burning eyes to shortness of breath and nausea. Sulfuric acid is a corrosive that is highly poisonous by inhalation and causes severe burns in contact with skin tissue. Vapors are irritating to the eyes and throat.

Although the cold temperatures, snow and ice may have helped to contain the spill, the winter weather hampered clean-up efforts. Southern Pacific's hazardous materials team was unable to land at nearby Eagle airport because of heavy snow and had to drive from Grand Junction, 150 miles away. Hazmat teams also responded from the Colorado State Patrol and the Vail Fire Department.

Two million pounds of soda ash and lime, needed to neutralize the acid, was brought in by truck and rail. Hulcher Professional Services of Rapid City, SD brought in heavy equipment to clear wreckage from the tracks. The acid-tainted snow was collected and removed from the mountain. The highway remained closed for four days so that new tanker cars could be brought in to unload the two derailed tankers, which remained perched precariously above the highway.

The train was travelling from East St. Louis, IL to Roseville, CA. According to reports, this incident was "eerily" similar to a 1989 accident in which a 58-car runaway freight train derailed and spilled concentrated sulfuric acid down a steep embankment and onto a highway only one-half mile from the site of the Leadville wreck.

The Justice Department, on behalf of the EPA, sued DuPont in September 1997, alleging that DuPont failed to maintain a safe facility as required by the Clean Air Act. The charge arose from DuPont's use of cast iron piping in a tank used to store oleum (sulfuric trioxide dissolved in sulfuric acid) and the company's failure to inspect that piping. The oleum solution corroded the cast iron piping, which ultimately fractured on the night of August 20, 1995, leading to the release of sulfuric acid into the air.

DuPont's own written standard for tanks and piping used for oleum storage, as well as chemical industry standards, indicate that cast iron is an inappropriate material for use in tanks that store oleum. Cast iron is susceptible to corrosion and abrupt cracking when in contact oleum.

The Justice Department and the EPA have reached a $1.5 million settlement with E.I. du Pont de Nemours related to the 1995 chemical release in eastern Kentucky that led to the evacuation of several communities surrounding the plant.

The Delaware-based DuPont will pay an $850,000 penalty and spend about $650,000 to create a state-of-the-art emergency notification system for a 10-county region of Kentucky. The agreement filed today in U.S. District Court in Lexington settles federal claims that DuPont violated federal environmental laws at its Wurtland, Ky., plant.

"This enforcement action reflects the EPA's commitment to ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act to protect human health and the environment from excessive air pollution," said John H. Hankinson, Jr., Regional Administrator for EPA's Region 4 in Atlanta. "We will continue to vigorously use enforcement along with other cooperative approaches that benefit the environment."

The government also asserted that DuPont violated provisions of two federal laws that require a company to immediately notify emergency response officials as soon as the company learns about a release of a hazardous substance exceeding a specified threshold.

General Chemical
Richmond, California, USA