San Diego
A San Diego man and an El Cajon resident inhaled sulfuric acid fumes Tuesday while loading a truck containing a 55-gallon drum of the corrosive liquid, authorities said.
Firefighters said the two men, employees of the Hayward-based Crescent Truck Lines, had difficulty breathing and were vomiting after inhaling fumes from 5 to 6 gallons of sulfuric acid that leaked from a drum sitting in the back of a company truck at a warehouse in the 9300 block of Cabot Drive near the Miramar Memorial Golf Course.
Jim Coleman, 34, of San Diego, and Mark Bulmar, 31, of El Cajon, were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla about noon and later released, said hospital spokesman Mike Dabney.
“They had a mixed load of chemicals. We neutralized the spill, separated the cargo and put the trucking company in touch with a private contractor to handle the hazardous waste,” said Capt. August Ghio of the Fire Department’s hazardous materials team.
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