Truck Spills Cyanide in Orange; Police Seal Off Area for Cleanup
Police sealed off an area around the intersection of Taft Avenue and Glassell Street in Orange on Wednesday while hazardous materials units cleaned up a gallon of cyanide that had spilled from an industrial recycling truck at about 3:30 p.m.
The driver of the truck had pulled over after noticing that fluid was leaking from the back of his vehicle, according to Police Lt. Lou Walsh. One of four 55-gallon drums of cyanide waste had apparently tipped over as the truck rounded a corner.
Because the cyanide was in liquid form, firefighters said, it was not dangerous. “There was no cyanide gas, no cloud” and, therefore, there was no evacuation, Walsh said.
The cleanup was completed by about 5:30 p.m.
Cyanide is an extremely poisonous, white, crystalline compound with an odor of bitter almonds. It is used in extracting gold from low-grade ores, electroplating, casehardening of steel and as a fluxing material in some industrial processes.
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