Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Chemical Spill at Air Force Plant Injures 5

A toxic chemical used in jet and rocket fuel spilled from a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in a hangar at Air Force Plant 42 on Tuesday morning, sending five people to area hospitals for treatment, forcing the temporary evacuation of a building and leading to a one-hour closure of the installation’s north entrance gates.

A small amount of diluted hydrazine spilled from a tank on the U-2 about 9:50 a.m. onto the head of a Lockheed Advanced Development Co. employee, said Maj. Peter Drinkwater, Plant 42 commander. Another Lockheed employee got the hydrazine on his hand.

Direct contact with hydrazine can cause blistering, and hydrazine fumes irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. The chemical can also cause dizziness and nausea, and large amounts can harm the liver, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells. In some cases, it can lead to seizures and death.

In July, 1991, about 400 gallons of hydrazine spilled on the Ventura coast when a Southern Pacific freight train derailed. Forty-nine homes in the community of Seacliff had to be evacuated and part of the Ventura Freeway was closed for five days during the initial cleanup. One resident and a news cameraman were sickened by the fumes immediately after the spill, and 11 workers became ill during the cleanup.

Lockheed was investigating the incident Tuesday and said only that about a cupful of hydrazine leaked from a tank coupling. Hydrazine is used as a starting propellant on the U-2, the military’s high-altitude reconnaissance plane, and other aircraft.

The five victims of the leak Tuesday were treated, released and said to be back at work later in the day. Two of the victims were taken to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center and three were taken to Lancaster Community Hospital. Lockheed refused to release their names.