1,000 Gallons of Acid Leak at Prison Ranch

About 1,000 gallons of sulfuric acid leaked from a storage tank into a ditch Tuesday at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic, but maintenance workers and inmates prevented it from spreading to a nearby drainage system, authorities said.

No injuries occurred and no one was evacuated from the North County maximum-security facility, at 29300 The Old Road, where the accident occurred about 2 p.m., Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said.

Lt. Bill Benton said the liquid chemical, which is used for cleaning purposes at the jail, was spotted leaking from a valve on the outdoor tank by a civilian maintenance worker.

The chemical was leaking into an open concrete ditch, deputies said. Several maintenance workers and inmates quickly made a dirt dam near the end of the ditch to prevent the chemical from emptying into the facility’s drainage system. Benton said the valve continued to leak until an estimated 1,000 gallons was held in the ditch by the makeshift dam.

A hazardous-materials team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department was called to the prison. The accident was also being investigated by the county Health Department. Benton said it was not known why the tank emptied but said an electrical short could have caused the valve to fail.

Benton said a private contractor was hired to remove the acid. Employees and inmates were not allowed near the ditch, but Benton said inmate dorms were not evacuated because wind was carrying fumes in the opposite direction.