We had a little oops at Geismar, LA, today. The internal liner on this tank car ruptured, and the hydrochloric acid it contained ate through the bottom of the car. Usually when this happens, the crew is not exposed to the leak. They can see the cloud around the car long before they get close to it.I thought someone with really bad sinus issues sneezed under the car. Actually, it's the reaction that happened between the HCL and the limestone ballast, CACO3. I've included a link because I'm a geek like that.
The authorities came out and stopped the leak with a magnetic patch so the remainder of the contents can be off-loaded.
3 comments:
Who are "The authorities"?
The local FD wants to be involved, and we have our own Risk Management folks that do the preliminary work before the emergency response team from Chemtrec gets there. That area is so saturated with chemical plants and refineries that the phone book includes a map with their locations. In case there is an accident, you will know how close you are to the offending facility and whether you're in danger or not. Nice, huh.
I've seen HCL react with CaCO3 in a lab before, it doesn't look like that. Perhaps the impurities in the rock is adding the green tint?
I still think that gob looks like the beginning of a bad "B" rated horror flick, like "The Blob That Ate Geismar" or something.
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