Photos John Ferrara

Emergency personnel responded to calls of a hazardous waste spill at the Eel River Resource Recovery facility in Samoa. Initial calls over the scanner indicated that the building had filled with smoke due to a hydrochloric acid spill.

At the scene, LoCO reporter John Ferrara spoke with Samoa Peninsula Fire Chief Dale Unea who said a 55-gallon drum with some residual acid in it was accidentally punctured by some equipment and reacted to water on the floor. When Unea first arrived there was light smoke in the air and the workers there had already self-evacuated. He characterized the incident as a minor spill.

The punctured barrel will be placed inside an overpack drum for disposal.