A Nitric Acid Delivery to the Wrong Tank Makes Front-Page News

A Nitric Acid Delivery to the Wrong Tank Makes Front-page News [Pg.158]

On a hot summer day in the late 1990s, one front-page headline of the Lake Charles American Press read, Acid Mix-up Creates Toxic Vapor Cloud. The accompanying photo showed two emergency-response team members staring at the sulfuric acid tank that was being cooled by water sprayed from three or more temporary firewater monitors. [9] [Pg.158]

The plant manager is quoted as saying that the chemical company was expecting four acid trucks on that Friday morning. Three of the trucks were carrying sulfuric acid and one was delivering nitric acid. The nitric acid truck was misdirected and partially unloaded in the sulfuric acid tank. [Pg.158]

The emergency response teams first concern was cooling the tank to reduce the possibility of rupture. Cooling water from fire monitors was sprayed on the shell of the vertical, cylindrical vessel and was sufficient to prevent a rupture. Later the acids were slowly mixed and scheduled to be neutralized with caustic. [Pg.158]

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