03/06/2020 12:41 AM
JOHOR BAHRU, June 2 -- About 200 litres of hydrochloric acid spilled from a trailer from the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex near Gelang Patah until the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Linkedua) Expressway’s Tanjung Kupang Toll Plaza here today.
Johor Fire and Rescue operations commander Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said the department received an emergency call at about 11.28 am and deployed 32 personnel with a hazardous material (Hazmat) team, assisted by four utility vehicles from Iskandar Puteri, Skudai, Larkin and Johor First Zone fire stations to the scene.
He said the trailer was on its way to deliver the chemical to a factory in Pasir Gudang for the purpose of processing food vinegar.
According to him, the driver noticed the spill when he stopped the trailer at the rest area after noticing smoke emitting from the rear tyres before discovering a leak in the storage tank, which is made of plastic.
“We found that about 200 litres of the hydrochloric acid (UN1789), which has a 33 percent concentration, had spilled from the lorry,” he said in a statement here today.
Lokman Hakim said the fire department took about five hours to clean up the spill on the road using soda ash and spraying techniques, including water in the drain.
“The cleaning works were done until the chemical reached a neutral level,” he said, adding that the operation ended at 4.07 pm.
Meanwhile, Iskandar Puteri district police chief ACP Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the lorry was carrying 18 drums of hydrochloric acid and one of the barrels burst and spilled the chemical.
“However, no injuries were reported,” he said in a separate statement here today.
-- BERNAMA
