Grant Chemical blamed for vapors
By HEATHER KAYS
Herald News (Passaic County, NJ)
Copyright 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.,
All Rights Reserved
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — Three people were briefly overcome by hydrochloric acid vapors allegedly leaking from the Grant Chemical plant on Main Street Thursday morning.
All three were treated at the scene by ambulance corps members, police Chief Don Ingrasselino said.
“They were given oxygen, their vital signs were checked and they were released,” he said, adding that none of the victims required hospitalization.
None of the three were employees of Grant Chemical, but were working nearby. One owned an executive moving company, another was a truck driver from Pennsylvania who was traveling through the borough and the third worked for a local auto shop. No employees of the chemical company reported any injuries, police said.
The incident, which lasted a few hours, did not result in an evacuation of surrounding homes and businesses. But Grant Chemical employees had to leave the premises, and borough police set up a perimeter around the plant.
State Department of Environmental Protection workers in HazMat suits conducted air tests and determined by early Thursday afternoon that it was safe for Grant Chemical workers to return to the plant. Officials from Grant Chemical did not initially speak to police about the incident Thursday and did not respond to several telephone messages left for comment.
Short-term exposure to the toxic chemical that was released, which is an irritant, may be corrosive to the eyes, skin and mucous membrane, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site. Eye, nose and repertory tract irritation, inflammation and pulmonary edema are also possible side effects. Other more serious health problems may occur upon long-term exposure.
Karen Hershey, a spokes-woman for the DEP, said Grant Chemical also known as Grant Industries Inc., located at 125 Main St., near the railroad tracks, is under investigation by the agency as a result of the incident, which was reported at 9:07 a.m. Thursday.
“The incident was not even reported by the company itself,” Ingrasselino said, adding that officers had questioned some Grant Chemical employees about the incident later in the day. “That is a problem. They should have reported this immediately after it occurred. We hadn’t heard a word from them. “
Ingrasselino said a nearby business owner, one of the three treated for chemical inhalation, called police claiming he inhaled fumes coming from the plant that produces laundry detergents, fabric softeners and other chemicals.
“He said there was a plume rising up into the air,” Ingrasselino said. “He thought it was a fire. When the fumes landed on him he said it felt wet ... acidy.”
What had actually occurred inside the factory was a bad chemical reaction, Ingrasselino said.
“They were mixing chemicals that they apparently had never mixed before,” he said.
Grant Chemical always tests small amounts of the chemicals to see if there will be a negative outcome first, Ingrasselino said.
“They didn’t get a reaction when they tested the small amounts,” Ingrasselino said. “But when they did it with the larger amounts and tried to add the water, there was a reaction. So they just weren’t prepared for what happened.”
Meanwhile, Ingrasselino said that in the more than 30 years Grant Chemical had been located in the borough, company executives had responded to a few similar incidents at the plant, but none in recent years.
However police said after interviewing nearby residents and business owners, several people claimed they frequently smell chemicals and see fumes coming from the factory.
“We haven’t received many complaints so there is nothing documented,” Ingrasselino said. “We can’t react to complaints we don’t receive. But now that we know, we will follow through on it.”
The Bergen County Health Department and Bergen County HazMat Team responded to the incident, along with local police and fire departments.
Grant Industries could potentially face fines and other penalties, including having to upgrade its equipment and operating procedures to meet DEP standards if it doesn’t already, officials said.
“In terms of penalties, that is still under investigation,” Hershey said of the DEP probe. “It’s too early to make any statement about what, if any, action the DEP will take.”
Source: The Environmental Protection Agency
Hydrochloric acid or hydrogen chloride is used in the photographic, textile and rubber industries.
The chemical is used for everything from the production of chlorides, fertilizers, dyes and electroplating.
It is an irritant and is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes.
Acute, short-term, inhalation exposure may cause eye, nose, respiratory tract irritation and inflammation and pulmonary edema in humans.
Acute oral exposure can cause corrosion of the mucous membranes, esophagus, and stomach.
Skin contact may produce severe burns, ulceration and scarring in humans.
The EPA has not classified hydrochloric acid for carcinogenicity or its tendency to produce cancer.