Sulphuric acid spill kills at least twenty in Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least twenty people have died after a truck carrying sulphuric acid shed its load onto two minibuses filled with passengers in Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, at about 6.00 pm local time on Wednesday 20 February 2018. A further none people were injured in the event, which happened as the truck was carrying the acid to the Glencore-operated Mutanda Mine (which produces cobalt and copper) near Kolwezi, though it is understood to have been owned by a subcontractor rather than the mining company itself.

The approximate location of the 20 February 2019 Lualaba acid spill. Google Maps.

Sulphuric acid, H₂SO₄, is a highly corrosive dibasic acid (an acid in which each acid molecule can donate two hydrogen ions, making it twice as corrosive as a monobasic acid, such as hydrochloric acid) at the same concentration). At very high concentrations it will react with water, and when diluted remains highly corrosive. Spills of such an acid are, obviously, extremely harmful to anything in the immediate vicinity, though because it is so highly reactive it seldom persists in the environment (though reactions of sulphuric acid often give rise to other sulphur compounds that are themselves harmful).

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Evacuations after Chemical at munitions factory in Western Cape Province.

306 people were temporarily evacuated from their homes and a two-month-old baby was admitted to hospital as a precaution following a chemical spill at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition Factory near Wellington in Western Cape Province, South Africa, on Thursday 4 January 2017. An unknown amount of the chemical oleum, which is also known as fuming sulphuric acid and can give rise to a mist of sulphuric acid, was spilled, prompting the Cape Winelands Fire Service to evacuate all properties within 3 km of the site as a precaution, and close of a reaction of the R44 highway.

The approximate location of the Rheinmetall Denel Munition Factory. Google Maps.

Oleum is a solution of sulphur trioxide dissolved in sulphuric acid, which is principally used (counter intuitively) to make more sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid can be made by adding sulphur trioxide to water, however this produces a vapour of sulphuric acid, which is extremely difficult to handle, so oleum is often produced as an intermediate product, which can then be turned into more sulphuric acid by (carefully) adding water to dilute it. Oleum is also sometimes used as a way of transporting concentrated sulphuric acid.

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Alabama river hit by sulphuric acid spill.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management is investigating after over 560 litres of sulphuric acid was released from a poultry rendering plant into the Mulberry Fork River at Hanceville in Cullman County on Wednesday 17 August 2016. The spill reportedly occurred at the American Proteins plant at about 4.00 pm, after a valve on a containment tank was left open, and resulted in the deaths of large numbers of fish and other aquatic organisms in the river.

Dead Fish in the Mulberry Fork River after the 17 August 2016 sulphuric acid spill. Nelson Brooke/Black Warrior Riverkeeper.

Sulphuric acid, H₂SO₄, is a highly corrosive dibasic acid (an acid in which each acid molecule can donate two hydrogen ions, making it twice as corrosive as a monobasic acid, such as hydrochloric acid) at the same concentration). At very high concentrations it will react with water (fortunately the acid that entered the Mulberry Fork was already diluted by rainwater), and when diluted remains highly corrosive. Spills of such an acid are, obviously, extremely harmful to anything in the immediate vicinity, though because it is so highly reactive it seldom persists in the environment (though reactions of sulphuric acid often give rise to other sulphur compounds that are themselves harmful).

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Dairy wastewater spill kills hundreds of Fish in Alabama creek.

A spill of dairy wastewater has killed several hundred Fish in the Shades Creek at Homewood, Alabama, close to West Homewood Park, on Monday 19 October 2015. The comprised about 380 liters of wastewater from the Mayfield Creamery, which turned the creek...

'Extinct' Gastropod rediscovered in Alabama.

The Mobile River Basin in Alabama and Georgia is considered to contain the most diverse Mollusc faunas of the entire North American continent. Unfortunately the area is also heavily urbanized and industrialized, with waterways channelized to...

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