Local News in Brief : 50 Evacuated in Acid Spill
About 50 people were evacuated from largely industrial areas of Lynwood and South Gate Tuesday night after 300 gallons of nitric acid spilled at a nearby chrome plating plant, authorities reported.
The spill occurred shortly after 6:15 p.m. at the Chrome Nickel Plating Co. in the 2800 block of East Century Boulevard in Lynwood when a tank burst as the acid was being poured into it. Fire officials said the evacuation was ordered as a precaution because the spill occurred near a tank containing cyanide, which could produce a poisonous gas if mixed with the nitric acid.
But safety measures at the plant, including a concrete safety dike, prevented the spill from causing further problems, officials said.
The evacuees, most of them residents of the area, were taken to a Red Cross center at South Gate Park.
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