Chemical Fumes From El Segundo Plant Sicken 115

Hydrochloric acid fumes from an El Segundo chemical plant mixed with low-hanging morning fog Thursday to create a choking mist that sickened 115 people and sent about 65 of them to hospitals for treatment, but there were no serious injuries.

The leak, which lasted less than 10 minutes, started shortly before 7 a.m. when a pressure-release safety valve failed in an outdoor processing tank at Allied-Signal Inc.’s plant at Sepulveda Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue, El Segundo Fire Capt. Jim O’Brien said.

Hydrochloric acid--commonly known as muriatic acid and used to clean swimming pools--is a byproduct of a refrigerant manufactured at the plant. The acid turns to vapor when mixed with air or liquid, plant spokesman William Mason said. In concentrated doses, the chemical can cause nausea, breathing difficulty and eye, ear and throat irritation, fire officials said.

No one was injured in the Allied-Signal plant, but a northeasterly breeze carried acid fumes toward the heart of the city’s industrial area, where low-hanging fog trapped the fumes near the ground, fire officials said.

“Without the fog, we wouldn’t have had any problem,” said Fire Battalion Chief William Woodcock. “The chemical would not have been concentrated enough to cause the problems it did.”

Workers at a health club construction site in the Continental Park office complex crowded inside the superintendent’s trailer to escape the foul-smelling air.

“People here were running around with their shirttails held over their faces making jokes about Bhopal, India,” said construction foreman Dave Gulley, referring to the chemical spill there that killed 2,000 people. “When it didn’t go away, we figured it was no joking matter and tried to find shelter.”

Employees from several businesses along Douglas Street, the area most affected by the noxious fumes, flooded the El Segundo emergency switchboard, prompting officials to request the help of fire departments from seven neighboring cities.

Firefighters barricaded a 10-block area until the fog cleared about 11:45 a.m., causing massive traffic jams. As a result, about 6,000 of the estimated 87,000 employees of the area’s aerospace companies could not get to work until lunchtime.

“This area reached near chaos for a while there when people were first arriving to work,” O’Brien said. “They’d get out of their cars and they wouldn’t know what hit them. We tried to usher people indoors as soon as possible.”

But even indoors they were not completely safe. The fumes were sucked into air-conditioning and ventilation units at several office buildings and industrial plants, Woodcock said.

At about 8:45 a.m. fire officials advised companies to shut down air conditioners and keep employees indoors.

Sixty five people were taken to nearby hospitals where all were treated and released, authorities said.

The fog caused problems elsewhere, too: Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport traffic was interrupted late Wednesday and early Thursday because of dense fog.

Los Angeles International officials said at least 15 arriving flights were sent to Ontario and flights leaving the airport were also delayed. Long Beach was closed most of the night due to zero visibility.

But by mid-morning the sky was clear--and hot. Los Angeles had its second day in a row of record-breaking heat Thursday; the temperature hit 91 degrees shortly after noon at the Civic Center--thoroughly eclipsing the old March 27 record of 88, set in 1969.