2,000 Return Home After Clean-Up of Acid Spill
About 2,000 people were allowed to return home early Thursday after a hydrochloric acid spill in Santa Fe Springs forced their evacuation for several hours. No injuries were reported in the Wednesday night spill, which occurred while workers were transferring about 3,500 gallons of acid from a truck into a tank at Brown Pacific, said Sheriff’s Deputy Roger Hom.
The company manufactures aluminum and steel wire, Hom said. As a precaution, homes and businesses were evacuated within a half-mile radius of the spill. Authorities began allowing residents to return home about 1 a.m. Thursday, said Deputy Rich Erickson.
About 350 evacuees were bused to nearby La Mirada High School, where the Red Cross had set up a shelter, said Kevin Leisher, disaster services director of the Red Cross’ Rio Hondo chapter.
The highly corrosive acid, which is widely used for cleaning and processing metals, can cause severe burns.
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