Anaheim : Frothing Substance Turns Out to Be Soap

The stuff frothing down the gutter at an Anaheim chemical company Sunday afternoon had a “rainbow sheen,” the same effect created when water and petroleum mix.

Because a large amount of chemicals are stored at the facility on South Street, and because of Sunday’s onslaught of rain, members of the Anaheim Fire Department’s hazardous materials team were concerned with the potential for a serious spread of toxic substances.

So they diked the storm drains outside Dixco-Diversified Chemical Sales Co. about 2:30 p.m., and began analyzing the substance, all the while hoping that the dirt dams they had constructed would hold up under the downpour.

Three hours later, fire officials said, they had determined that the material was highly concentrated soap. They let the rain wash it away.

Hazardous materials team Capt. Bob Hirst said representatives of the county Environmental Management and Health Care agencies concluded that the concentration of soap was within tolerable levels.

The owner of the firm, which is located at 1014 E. South St., told hazardous materials experts that the soap had spilled in previous days, Hirst said, adding that the rain and minor flooding at the back of the Dixco property had “agitated the substance and caused frothing that appeared to be a hydrocarbon sheen (like that) produced when and oil and water are mixed.”

“It gave us quite a scare to begin with,” said Hirst, “But some soaps produce that same rainbow effect.”