Fierce weather blamed for big chemical spill, outages Tank of hydrochloric acid tips, causes vapor cloud
Author: By Jason Bergreen and Judy Fahys
By Jason Bergreen and Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Education Network https://www.uen.org/lessonplan/download/43361?lessonId=37162&segmentTypeId=2
The tail end of a line of thunderstorms Wednesday evening knocked over a 13,000-gallon tank of hydrochloric acid, releasing a chemical plume and forcing the evacuation of an industrial area on the west side of Salt Lake City and closures of Interstate 215 and several city streets. About 12:30 p.m. a tank of sulfuric acid corroded sending a second chemical plume into the air. Emergency crews were expected to have both spills cleaned-up by 4 a.m. The tank spilled hydrochloric acid at LA Chemical, 2334 W. Directory Row, just after 5 p.m., releasing a vapor cloud, said Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Dennis McKone. Police closed off a two-block area around the spill site, shutting down streets in the industrial zone to about 25 businesses, most of which were already closed. About 7:30 p.m., firefighters noticed a 10,000-gallon tank of sulfuric acid close by was also corroding and leaking. It was only a matter of time before the sulfuric acid tank would give way. By 10:30 p.m., the sulfuric acid tank was in such bad shape that firefighters and Hazmat crews were pulled out of the area. In the meantime, the evacuation zone had been expanded until it included everything west of I-215, south of 500 South, east of Bangerter Highway and north of California Avenue, McKone said. Police kept people from entering these boundaries, although no residential homes in the area had been evacuated. "Everything east of I-215 is safe at this time. Residents of Glendale and Rose Park are safe at this time," McKone said at midnight. But that danger could change with the wind, which was blowing to the northwest, away from Salt Lake City. Should the wind change direction to the east some time during the night, then evacuations of residential areas could occur, McKone said. Hydrochloric and sulfuric acids affect the respiratory system, making it hard to breath and causing burning in the throat and lungs. LA Chemical employees reported the three-alarm incident around 5 p.m. No employees were injured by the chemicals, McKone said. Two hazardous materials specialists were taken to the LDS Hospital in fair condition after inhaling too much of the hydrochloric acid. About 60 firefighters and hazardous materials investigators from Salt Lake City and West Valley City originally responded to the incident, but Salt Lake City police, Salt Lake County sheriff's and Utah Highway Patrol personnel came on the scene as it unfolded. Blustery winds from the storm also caused blackouts to 20,000 Rocky Mountain Power customers in Salt Lake and Utah counties. Power had been restored to 9,000 customers by 10 p.m., said power spokesman Dave Eskelsen. Homes and businesses in the Avenues neighborhood, Sugar House, Sandy and Magna were expected to have power back on by early morning, he said. Downed power poles and trees interfered with main circuit lines, causing the outages.
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