Thousands of gallons of hydrochloric acid solution...

Thousands of gallons of hydrochloric acid solution leaked from a tanker truck onto Interstate 680 in Alameda County, causing the temporary evacuation of about a dozen nearby farmhouses and creating a daylong traffic jam. Hundreds of morning commuters were exposed to a large white cloud of hydrochloric gas for about an hour, until roadblocks were set up around the site five miles south of Pleasanton. But no serious injuries were reported and no lasting health effects were predicted. However, more than 1,000 gallons of the caustic solution--commonly called muriatic acid--flowed into nearby Arroyo de la Laguna, endangering fish and wildlife in the creek and in the Alameda Creek Reservoir downstream, authorities said.