Wednesday, February 4, 2015

OVERTURNED TANKER TRUCK SPILLS HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL (HYDROCHLORIC ACID) IN RURAL NEBRASKA. RESIDENTS WERE EVACUATED.



OVERTURNED TANKER TRUCK SPILLS HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL (HYDROCHLORIC ACID) IN RURAL NEBRASKA

 




February 4, 2015




CRAWFORD, Neb. (AP) - A truck making a delivery to a uranium mining company has overturned and caused a minor hazardous chemical spill in northwestern Nebraska.




Dawes County Deputy Sheriff Scott Swickward says a tankard truck hauling a trailer slipped down a rig early Wednesday morning while delivering a chemical to Crow Butte Resources, Inc. near Crawford.  He says the leak resulting from the accident is not a public threat, but nearby residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure.




Swickward says only a valve broke on the truck, causing hydrochloric acid to drizzle out. He says Nebraska hazmat crews have responded to the scene and are working to clean up the spill.




Hydrochloric acid is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes.  Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure may cause eye, nose, and respiratory tract irritation and inflammation and pulmonary edema in humans.  Acute oral exposure may cause corrosion of the mucous membranes, esophagus, and stomach and dermal contact may produce severe burns, ulceration, and scarring in humans. 




Hydrochloric acid is used in the production of chlorides, for refining ore in the production of tin and tantalum, for pickling and cleaning of metal products, in electroplating, in removing scale from boilers, for the neutralization of basic systems, as a laboratory reagent, as a catalyst and solvent in organic syntheses, in the manufacture of fertilizers and dyes, for hydrolyzing starch and proteins in the preparation of various food products, and in the photographic, textile, and rubber industries.