NEWBURY PARK : Toxic Gas Forces Evacuation of Plant
Two hundred employees were evacuated Monday from a Newbury Park engineering company when several acids, mixed together in a container, turned into a toxic gas.
Ventura County Fire Department officials said no one was injured in the 11:28 a.m. incident at Amplica Inc., 905 Lawrence Drive.
According to Fire Department dispatcher Dennis Miller, several gallons of nitrogen, hydrochloric and acetic acids--normally kept together without danger--mysteriously turned into a hazardous gas, setting off an alarm at the facility.
The company, which produces electronic microchip components for the military, was shut down. County hazardous-materials crews spent much of the afternoon cleaning up the acid.
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