4 Evacuated in Spill at Plant

A chemical spill at an Oxnard manufacturing plant Saturday afternoon led to the evacuation of four workers at the plant and to a medical examination of a security guard from a neighboring plant, Oxnard Fire Department officials said.

“No more than a few gallons” of the chemical, a sodium hydroxide solution, spilled at about 5:12 p.m. at the Reichhold Chemicals Inc. plant, 5980 Arcturus Ave., Capt. Michael O’Mallia said.

None of the plant’s workers were injured. But Rebecca Kinder, a security guard at the neighboring Kaiser Aluminum plant, downwind of Reichhold, was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center after complaining that her eyes burned and that she was short of breath, O’Mallia said. She was under observation at the hospital Saturday night, a nursing supervisor said.

Plant workers called the Fire Department because they were not sure what chemical was leaking from the plant’s pipes, O’Mallia said. The workers were afraid the spilled chemical was bromine, which is extremely toxic, he said. The sodium hydroxide solution that leaked was very weak, with only a 10% concentration, he said. The solution could cause burns to the skin or the lungs only after a long-term exposure, he said.