An explosion ripped through a warehouse at a chemical plant in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Thursday. It’s forced the evacuation of about 6000 residents living nearby. No injures or death have been reported.

It happened at about 1:30 in Thursday afternoon at a storage facility at the Futian Chemical Company in Guangzhou.

Ninety firefighters and 15 fire engines were dispatched, and the situation was brought under control in about two hours, according to the Panyu Safety Supervision Bureau.

A small amount of hydrogen chloride, a toxic gas, has been detected in the air in neighboring areas, and evacuated residents have yet to return home.

Around 6,000 people were evacuated Thursday after an explosion at a chemical plant near the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The accident occurred in the afternoon at the Futian Chemical Company in Panyu district, local news agency said.

Residents were evacuated after “a small amount” of toxic hydrogen chloride and sodium gas was detected in the air following the blast.

As of 7:30 PM Thursday, the gas dispersed and was no threat to people, according to an environmental monitoring worker.

The explosion of factory buildings occurred at around 2:30 PM. Firefighters continued to spray foam to the plant an hour after the blast. Almost all of the windows of a 5-story dormitory next to the plant were broken.

The blast caused no casualty for the chemical plant had not been operating since last year.

A local resident told reporter that he smelled pungent odor from time to time which gave him a headache and a sore throat.

Safety supervision bureau said the blast might be caused by human negligence.

Bossier City Fire Department worked a fire today when a tanker truck caught on fire as it drove down Interstate 220

The incident happened around 1:45 p.m. when a tanker truck driving west on the interstate when the driver noticed smoke coming from under the hood. According to a news release, the driver then pulled over and called 911. The truck was hauling hydrogen chloride, a corrosive chemical that’s not flammable but can release toxic gases and vapors if it comes in contact with fire

When fire crews arrived the truck’s cab was engulfed in flames. The fire was extingushed within 5 minutes by use fire suppressing foam. Firefighters kept the fire contained to the truck. The tanker trailer remained intact during the incident and kept the chemical safely contained.

Hydrochloric acid leaking from a train tanker has prompted the evacuation of 250 homes near Monument and the cancelation of Lewis-Palmer District 38 schools today.

A tractor-trailer rig hauling hazardous materials rolled on Interstate 80 near Coalville in Summit County on Wednesday morning.

Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Todd Johnson said the truck’s driver sustained only minor injuries and was treated at the scene. However, the 7:30 a.m. crash temporarily closed both directions of travel near mile post 179 — and one of the truck’s fuel tanks ruptured.

Additionally, an estimated 50 pounds of hydrogen chloride spilled, Johnson said. Hazmat personnel were dispatched to the scene near Echo Reservoir. By 6 p.m., the chemicals had been cleaned up, UHP reported.

However, traffic through the area was diverted to alternative routes until early Wednesday afternoon, when all but one lane was reopened. At 6 p.m., workers were still fixing the guardrail, which required the lane to remain closed, Johnson said.

The Harrison Pharmacy School building was evacuated at about 8:45 a.m. because of a corroded canister of hydrogen chloride gas, according to the Auburn Fire Department.

A canister of hydrogen chloride, a potentially deadly gas, was found to be leaking.

“The regulator [on the canister] is stuck,” said Lee Evans, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “They had planned to remove this canister this evening. When the University was notified that we had a canister that could potentially leak, they pulled in the militia.”

All access points to the building were blocked off with yellow caution tape. An AU alert went out at 9:29 a.m. via a phone call and 9:40 a.m. via text message, warning students of a reported hazardous material release and cautioning them to avoid the area.

“This is really being extremely safe,” Evans said. “Essentially, from a safety perspective, [the University] said we need to get it out of here now.”

Safety precautions included members of the Auburn and Opelika HazMat team and Auburn Fire Department.

“They’re in level-A suits in there,” said an Auburn firefighter.

When sealed in one of these suits, the wearer is completely isolated from the outside atmosphere. The suits are composed of up to a dozen protective layers, as well as a sealed hood and respirator mask.

On a scale of one to 10, however, Evans said the event was only about a 0.5.

Lee Lamar, Auburn fire chief, said as far as they know, the canister was found to be leaking this morning. He didn’t know if they were planning to move it or not.

“This wouldn’t be standard protocol for moving it as long as it was in a good state,” Lamar said. He said at 10 a.m. they were looking at one to two more hours of cleanup.

William Ravis, professor in the pharmacy school, said the canister had been “sitting up there for years.” Arrangements were apparently made last night to remove the canister.

Officials are currently setting up a decontamination team.

The fire department will make a formal statement on the situation later in the day.

After the city of Fallon declared a state of emergency on Aug. 23 when 10,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid spilled during a delivery at the water treatment facility, Northern Nevada emergency responders in addition to the community came together in an impressive response effort.

“There are very few agencies in the United States that can assess, contain and clean up a hazardous material spill of this magnitude,” said city Emergency Manager Steve Endacott. “Given this challenging scenario, this is the way it was designed to go down.”

Due to previous emergency planning, city officials were confident from the beginning the 10,000 gallons of corrosive chemical would not seep into the environment. The city installed a specialized trough beneath the hydrochloric acid tank capable of holding 100 percent of the chemical housed in the building.

“It was fully contained the first day it occurred,” said Mayor Ken Tedford Jr. “The way the building was designed worked perfectly.”

A large hydrochloric acid spill at a water treatment facility Monday that supplies drinking water to the city of Fallon caused an interruption in the plant's regular service.

At about 2 p.m. Monday, while a shipment of hydrochloric acid was being delivered to the plant about 8- to 10,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid- used in the treatment plant-spilled out of the truck and into a containment area designed to catch spills if they happen.

The Fallon/Churchill Volunteer Fire Department along with the Federal Fire Department at Naval Air Station Fallon responded to n hydrochloric acid leak at the city's water plant Monday afternoon.

Others called out included Fallon Police Department, paramedics from Banner Churchill Community Hospital and a HAZMAT response team.

Fallon Mayor Ken Tedford Jr. said the acid leaked from a holding tank. Employees were evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Tedford said the spill is under investigation. He could not elaborate on the cause of the leak.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) Anchorage Police say they evacuated the Fred Meyer store off of Northern Lights Boulevard and New Seward, after a chemically activated bomb went off during a late night back to school shopping session on Saturday. APD says no one was hurt, however the people who were out late Saturday night back to school shopping, still got quite a scare.
Police say just before 11 pm, what looked like a plastic water container exploded from gas pressure in isle four in the Fred Meyer store. APD says the store was evacuated for a period of time, but they are not sure exactly how long that was.

Anchorage Fire Department officials say after everyone cleared out of harms way, they tested some samples from the bottle with their hazardous materials equipment. It tested 97% muriatic acid, a hydrochloric acid commonly used for industrial cleaning.

Fire officials say they were able to neutralize the substance with baking soda, provided by Fred Meyer. APD says this goes beyond a prank and is a very serious offense.

"Lots of times, young people especially, because that's who I am seeing on the internet constructing these kind of devices, young people think that either their a young person, or this is just a funny thing so it's not a serious offense. This caused a great deal of disruption, but it's also placing other peoples lives and well being in jeopardy, and we will prosecute criminally when we determine who is responsible for this act," said

Residents of 20 homes on Stewart Avenue in Streetsboro returned to their houses Wednesday morning following an evacuation because a tanker truck spilled hydrochloric acid solution on the turnpike the night before.
The truck overturned on the Ohio Turnpike shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, closing a portion of the toll road and prompting the evacuation, according to the Streetsboro Fire Department.
The department’s public information officer, Kevin Grimm, said residents returned to their homes Wednesday morning after sleeping at the homes of friends and relatives.
“The Red Cross was contacted, but their assistance (in providing lodging) wasn’t needed,” Grimm said.
Jon Barber, director of Portage County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the area was deemed safe at about 3 a.m. Wednesday.
The driver, a 46-year-old man from Ohio City, was able to get out of the wreckage and was found outside of the truck. He was quickly assessed by paramedics and moved a safe distance from the scene in an ambulance.

ROCKFORD (WREX) - Hazmat crews get called out to a Rockford Business.  About 30 to 50 gallons of muriatic acid spilled inside Rockford Products.  A supervisor noticed the spill and called Hazmat.  Crews don't think any of the acid made its way into the drainage system. Muriatic acid is usually used as a cleaning product.

FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRQE) - A Schlumberger spokesperson said it appears a valve failure on a primary holding tank caused a chemical leak at the company's Farmington plant over the weekend.

FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRQE) - Residents displaced by the chemical leak in Farmington can seek shelter at Bluffview Elementary School located at 1204 Camino Real.

Battalion Chief Troy Brown with the Farmington Fire Department said there maybe as many as 100 people who can still not return to their homes after 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of Hydrochloric Acid leaked from a holding tank at the Schlumberger Plant Sunday evening.

The fire department had hoped to lift all shelter in place orders by midnight, but Brown said the clean up is going to take longer than expected.

At least one person has been killed and two others injured after a tank containing hydrochloric acid exploded at a chemical factory in Banten on Friday.

Antara said the factory in Bojonegara, Serang district, was owned by PT Sulfindo Adiusaha.

The deceased has been identified as Jumani, 22. His body and those who survived the explosion have been evacuated to the Krakatau Medika Hospital in Cilegon.

The factory management has not commented on the incident, with an official at their head office telling the Jakarta Globe that they were unaware of the explosion

...

“PT Sulfindo AdiUsaha have been implementing working safety & healthy management system which is according to Ministry of Labours Republic of Indonesia instruction no. 5 1996. And for the result PT Sulfindo Adi Usaha achived the golden flag for the year of 1999 and 2002,” the Web site states in poor English.

MANASSAS, Va.—A gallon of muriatic acid forced the closure of Yates Ford Road at Prince William Parkway on Monday afternoon. Traffic backed up on the parkway for at least half a mile.
Hazardous materials crews and firefighters called to the scene just before 3 p.m. found a gallon container of the acid lying near the intersection of the two roads, and then used a red 5-gallon container to isolate it before more of the acid could spill.
"The HAZMAT crews assessed the hazard, and using the equipment they have, took samples and determined the substance to be muriatic acid," said Assistant Chief Brett Bowman of the Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department.
The container could have fallen off the back of a truck transporting hazardous materials, but there is no way for investigators to know for sure, Bowman said.
It took crews less than an hour to identify the substance, which is commonly used in household cleaners and production of polyurethane and PVC plastics.

Two workers collapsed when they were exposed to a potentially deadly gas at a water treatment factory in Melbourne's west last night.
One of the workers remains in hospital this morning after the incident at Omega Chemicals in Laverton North about 11.30pm.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman Trevor Woodward said a 45-year-old worker had attempted to neutralise waste product with hydrochloric acid, which gave off a chlorine gas.

On Wednesday, March 31 at 12:58 a.m. while on routine patrol on Simpson Road, Cannon County Sheriff’s Deputies Brandon Gullett and Matt Parsley noticed a vehicle in the roadway with no lights.
“When Matt and I walked up to the car we smelled the toxic fumes that is associated with the meth process and spotted what appeared to be items commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine in the vehicle,” said Deputy Gullett. “We then called for Sheriff’s Investigator Charlie Wilder to assist us at the scene.
“We have heard about the ‘shake and bake’ method of manufacturing methamphetamine but this was the largest mobile lab that we have found in this county,” said Wilder. “During our search of the vehicle we found some finished product, assorted drug paraphernalia, digital scales and all the items necessary to make meth including Coleman fuel and Muriatic acid. The chemical process was definitely underway to manufacture meth.”