By Jennifer Hansen
SALT LAKE CITY - Almost 1,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid spilled at a Salt Lake City chemical plant Thursday, May 8, requiring more than 100 employees to evacuate.
The hydrochloric acid was being transferred between reel cars when a plastic liquid line broke at Thatcher Company at 1 p.m.
'No one was hurt and there was no environmental damage,' said Lawrence Thatcher, chief executive officer of Thatcher Company.
After arriving on the scene, the Salt Lake City Fire Department called for an evacuation of Thatcher Company and nearby business buildings, said the fire department''s spokesman Dennis McKone.
When a vapor cloud built up around the area, firefighters started to shutdown I-15, McKone said.
However, he said the cloud soon dissipated and I-15 remained open.
The Thatcher employees were detained from work for one hour as the fire department gathered chemical samples and began cleaning up.
Soda ash was placed over the hydrochloric acid, which neutralizes the solution and forms salt.
'It was a very easy cleanup,' Thatcher said.
He said the company''s own cleanup team could have purified the area themselves.
'The evacuation wasn''t even necessary,' Thatcher said. 'But we are required to call the fire department.'
Both the health department and the fire marshal were called to the scene, McKone said.
'The situation is very much under control at this time,' he said.
One company employee complained of a headache, but after being examined by the fire department''s medical team, he refused further treatment and was released, McKone said.
Thatcher Company is a chemical corporation that manufactures water treatment products and photochemicals.
The hydrochloric acid that spilled was produced for cleaning bricks.
Thatcher Company has never had an acid spill before, Thatcher said.
The hydrochloric acid covered a 100- by 30-foot area.