San Diego

A processing tank at the General Dynamics Lindbergh Field assembly plant overflowed Monday, spilling chromic acid near storm drains that empty into San Diego Bay, water quality officials said.

Checks of the bay and storm drains shortly after the spill showed no evidence of contamination, said Greig Peters, an environmental agent for the Regional Water Quality Control Board in San Diego.

“At most, 10 to 20 gallons of acid overflowed. . . . We don’t suspect contamination of any kind,” Peters said.

The spill occurred about 9:30 a.m. when chromic acid used in the manufacture of machinery parts inadvertently overflowed from a tank at the General Dynamics Plant at 2700 N. Harbor Drive, a spokeswoman for the company said. The release of the acid was stopped by General Dynamics employees while city firefighters were called, the spokeswoman said.

Peters said the chemicals that spilled from the tank were diluted and not particularly strong, judging from tests by General Dynamics that were analyzed by the Water Quality Control Board.

“They (General Dynamics) said only about 10 to 20 gallons spilled, and the data seems to support that,” Peters said.

“If there had been a large flow (of contaminants into the bay) they would have been found in the tests,” he added.

Peters said the spilled chemicals were pumped back into the General Dynamics plant and taken to a hazardous waste disposal site.