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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Cleanup operation after acid spill at Malaysian technology park.

Specialist cleanup teams had to be deployed after about 500 litres of Nitric Acid was spilt during a delivery to a company making computer components on the Cheng Technology Park in Jalan Kubu in Malacca State, Peninsula Malaysia. The incident happened slightly before 8.00 pm local time on Friday 4 January 2019, resulting in a pool of acid covering about 10 square meters. The area was cordoned off by emergency services until a specialist cleanup team from the Melaka Fire and Rescue Department arrived. It took about four hours to tackle the spill by adding sodium carbonate (powdered limestone) to neutralise the acid then cleaning up the resultant mess.

A hazardous materials team from the Maleka Fire and Rescue Department attending an acid spill at a technology park on 4 January 2018. Rasul Ali Samud/New Straits Times.

Nitric Acid is a colourless but extremely strong smelling liquid, it is highly corrosive and acts as an oxidising agent. Exposure to the skin can cause severe chemical burns, and inhaling the vapour can result in severe respiratory problems. Calcium Carbonate will react with Nitric Acid to produce Carbon Dioxide, Water and Calcium Nitrate (an largely inert white powder that absorbs water), so Nitric Acid spills can be tackled by adding Calcium Carbonate until the reaction stops fizzing, then clearing up the end product, a mixture of Calcium Nitrate, Calcium Carbonate and Water.

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Seven hospitalized after acid spill at New Jersey school.

Six students and a teacher have been hospitalized following an acid spill at Union High School in Union City, New Jersey, on Wednesday 20 December 2016. About four litres of acetic acid was spilled in the incident, some of which splashed onto the teacher, who was taken to hospital as a precaution, as were six of the 25 students in the classroom at the time of the incident, the others being assessed by a Union Fire Department hazmat team at the scene before being discharged.

Hazmat response vehicle at Union High School following the 20 December 2016 chemical spil. ABC7.

Acetic acid (or ethanoic acid, CH₃CO₂H) is the principle ingredient in vinagar, but at high concentrations is corrosive, and can cause severe burns. It also gives off irretant fumes that can aggrivate the eyes nose and throat, or at high enough concentrations cause damage to the lungs and respiratory system. 

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Workers rescued after chemical incident in Melbourne.

A factory was forced to evacuate and four workers needed to be rescued after a drum containing chemicals exploded at the site in the Thomsatown area of north Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, on Saturday 10 September 2016. The four workers took refuge in a safe area within the plant after the drum burst, releasing a clound of orange gas and about 100 litres of fluid. They were rescued by emergency crews from Melbourne's Metropolitan Fire Brigade using breathing apparatus, and checked for signs of contamination by crews from Ambulance Victoria before being released. A 250 m exclusion zone was set up around the site while the spill was cleaned up.

Emergency crews at the scene of the 10 September 2016 Melbourne chemical incident. Paul Stacchino/Twitter/ABC.

The drum that caused the incident is believed to have contained nitrous acid, HNO₂, a weak monobasic acid used in a variety of chemical manufacturing proceses and not generally considered a high risk substance (and not to be confused with the similar sounding but much more dangerous nitric acid). The problem is thoguht to have occured because the drum had not been cleaned before use, and contained traces of an organic solvent; acids tend to react strongly with such solvents, producing large amounts of gas, which would have led to the presure rising sharply inside the drum, untill this led to the top being blown off.

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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...

Passers by forced to undergo decontamination after chemical spill in Motueka, South Island, New Zealand.        Nine people, including a 10-month-old baby were forced to undergo decontamination after coming into contact with a chemical leaking from a truck in Motueka, South Island, New Zealand...

Chemical spill at Scottish school puts two staff members in hospital.                                       Two members of staff have been hospitalized after a chemical spill at a school in Perth, Scotland, on Thursday 7 January 2015. The incident happened...

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