ACID SPILL AT LOCAL PLANT INJURES DRIVER

SCOTT CITY -- A St. Louis truck driver was injured Monday in a chemical spill at the Biokyowa plant along Nash Road.

The unidentified truck driver was treated and released at St. Francis Medical Center after he inhaled fumes from a hydrochloric acid spill.

The incident was similar to a chemical spill at the plant about six months ago. As with that incident, the acid was quickly contained and neutralized, and there were no serious injuries.

Bruce Blankenship, who is in charge of safety and environmental quality control at Biokyowa, said about 1,900 gallons of the chemical spilled when a flange on the top of the tanker truck broke while the driver loaded hydrochloric acid from the truck into a storage tank.

The spill occurred at about 9:45 a.m.

"The hydrochloric acid is transferred from the tanker truck into our storage tank by pressure, and when the flange on the truck broke it started fuming really bad as the acid was running out of the truck," Blankenship said.

"As soon as it was noticed, we stopped air pressure and started using water and soda ash to contain and neutralize the spill."

Blankenship said the outside storage tanks are situated within a diked area to ensure that spills are easily contained. He said the spill Monday encompassed about a 40-feet by 60-feet area.

"When we had the spill in June, it was due to somebody following the wrong procedure," he said. "This time, it was a case of mechanical failure with the truck.

"We were told that the truck had been through an inspection just the other day, and there didn't seem to be a problem. It's just one of those things."

The injured man inhaled fumes and suffered a minor burn on his neck. The truck is owned by Commercial Cartage Co. of St. Louis.

Blankenship said the spill was contained and the acid neutralized within about an hour of the spill.

The soda ash was used as a dike around the spill. It also neutralizes the acid, which is then washed into the plant's treatment plant.

"We have a response team for these types of situations," Blankenship said. "As soon as something like this happens, these guys summon full-body protection to clean up the spill."

Unlike the incident six months ago, traffic on Nash Road wasn't interrupted Monday. In June about 500 gallons of the acid spilled, producing a cloud of noxious gas that briefly closed traffic in the area.

Blankenship said hydrochloric acid can burn skin and eyes upon contact.

But Mark Hasheider, a battalion chief for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, said Biokyowa's emergency response plan proved effective Monday.

"We went down to see what had occurred, but the on-site workmen already had taken care of the situation," said Hasheider, who also is Cape Girardeau's emergency operations coordinator.

He said Biokyowa has an excellent emergency response plan.

"They train for something to happen," Hasheider said. "They don't want anything to happen, but when it does, they are ready for it. They've got the equipment and knowledge and people to respond to the incident, and in this case, that response was very quick.

He said Biokyowa routinely asks the fire department to do "walk-through" inspections of their equipment and emergency operations.

"I have to give them an A-plus on their site and the safety measure they have down there," Hasheider added. "We work quite closely with them on a regular basis, and I think they've got a good plan."