Area thunderstorms threaten to turn a spill at a pharmaceutical plant into a toxic mist
By Thomasi McDonald
The News & Observer
Copyright 2007 The News and Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters kept a wary eye on the sky Thursday, hoping that hazardous materials workers could clean up a sulfuric acid spill at a North Raleigh pharmaceutical plant before a heavy shower turned it into a toxic cloud.
Officers briefly shut down roads, ordered school evacuations and closed some businesses around the Mallinckrodt Inc. plant at 8801 Capital Blvd., where the acid spilled from an outdoor storage tank.
The spill, reported about 7:30 a.m., was largely confined to a containment area around the tanks. No injuries were reported. Mallinckrodt spokeswoman Joanna Schooler said the cause of the spill had not been determined.
Cathy Akroyd, a spokesman for the N.C. Division of Waste Management, said several thousand gallons leaked from the tank.
“All of the product was in the containment basin except for about 10 gallons that was misted out by the wind,” Akroyd said.
Authorities had said they were confident that the leak’s impact would be limited to Mallinckrodt’s property -- until it threatened to rain Thursday afternoon. They feared that a downpour could cause the sulfuric acid to vaporize while it was being collected from the open-air containment basin.
Bryant Woodall, assistant Raleigh fire chief, said officers were prepared to order evacuations and pull barricades across nearby roads, including Capital Boulevard.
“We need rain,” Woodall said. “But we don’t need it at Mallinckrodt right now.”
Rain mixing with sulfuric acid could produce an acidic mist that could burn skin and a person’s respiratory tract if inhaled, said Gerald LeBlanc, head of the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at N.C. State University.
As afternoon thunderstorms began moving through surrounding counties, Raleigh Fire Chief John McGrath went to a nearby command post to plot strategy with leaders of various emergency agencies, including the Raleigh Police Department and the Wake Forest and Raleigh fire departments.
“A possible thunderstorm could affect any decision we make,” McGrath said.
Light rain began falling about 4:20 p.m., prompting police to briefly close roads around Mallinckrodt. For a time, city officials urged residents within a half-mile of the plant to remain indoors.
At least two nearby daycare centers closed early as a precaution. Chris Harris of Wake Forest left work about 1:30 p.m. to pick up his 3-year-old at Durant Road Preschool, which had notified the parents of about 130 children that it was closing early.
“We’re getting out of here,” Harris said.
Students at Durant Road Middle School were sent home 10 minutes early because of the spill, said principal Robert Smith. He said the school was alerted at 2:20 p.m. that it would need to close early; classes normally end at 2:40 p.m.
A private contractor was brought in to pump the acid from the containment basin around the leaking tank, Woodall said. That process took several hours and was not interrupted by a thunderstorm.