Emergency Preparedness: Hypothetical Nitric Acid Spill

Contents:

• Statement of potential spill.
• Procedure for receipt of Nitric Acid at the Chemistry Building
• Emergency procedures for a spill of nitric acid
• Other considerations.

1. Statement of Potential Spill

   The worst-case probable spill at UWM for a SARA III reportable hazardous substance would be 2 cases of ~1 gallon bottles, 6 bottles in each case, for an approximate total of 12 gallons. The spill would most likely occur on the loading dock of the Chemistry Building during a truck delivery of nitric acid.

2. Procedure for Receipt of Nitric Acid at the Chemistry Building

   Most, if not all chemicals, are received in Chemistry following the same procedure. The driver of the delivery vehicle unloads the containers on the loading dock. The driver contacts the main office using the dock phone. A person from the main office will come down one floor to the loading dock to sign for the materials. Usually, the materials are brought to the basement stockroom, B1K to be accepted. The main office person signs for the chemicals after checking the packages with the shipping papers. All lots are recorded on a receiving list. The main office person contacts the person in the department who ordered the chemicals. That person, or that person's representative will pick up the chemical in B1K, signing for the lot on the receiving list.

3. Emergency Procedures for a Spill of Nitric Acid

   A possible scenario involving more than one case of nitric acid could occur if the vehicle crashed with sufficient force to cause breakage of all the cases of nitric acid. More than 12 gallons of chemicals could be present on the vehicle and could be involved in the incident. This scenario could occur if the driver fell asleep while backing up to the loading dock at a higher than safe speed. Another scenario could occur if multiple boxes were unloaded from the truck and stacked too close to the loading dock edge, and the stack was knocked over the edge. The DOT-required packaging for nitric acid would minimize the impact of these scenarios. Many reagent nitric acid bottles are plastic coated so, even when broken, leakage is minimal.

   Despite these precautions, if 12 gallons worth of nitric acid containers were to break at one time, the course of action to follow is:

   1. Assess the situation, and warn people in the vicinity, while

   2. moving to a safe distance, in order to
   3. Contact the campus police (9-911 from any campus phone), to
   4. Report what is known about what happened, who (if anyone) is injured, where and when the incident occurred, and
   5. Stay on the phone until the police hang up.

   The campus police will contact assisting agencies and other emergency contacts. The campus police will contact University Safety and Assurances. University Safety and Assurances will provide informational assistance to emergency responders, deploy emergency response or urgent response contractors (if needed) and complete required notifications.

   The typical response for a nitric acid spill includes covering the spill with a neutralizing agent, such as sodium bicarbonate, scooping up the residuals into a disposal container (drum) and washing the contaminated surfaces with soap and water. The spill response level for this type of spill would typically be Level B.

4. Other Considerations

   Negatives:  The loading dock area would be an unfortunate place to have a spill because it is in a low lying area relative to its surroundings, and the dock are is surrounded by walls or buildings on three sides. These conditions would tend to encourage accumulation of vapors and perhaps impede evacuation of people from the area. The loading dock has a storm sewer that would tend to collect spilled liquids. A spill on a delivery truck would involve the driver, who would not be under the control of the facility. The material, if spilled, would not be accepted by the facility, and technically remain the responsibility of the transporter. As a result, the facility may have less liability, but would have less control over the response agencies and contractors, and the quality of the response.

   Positives:   The wind currents are often substantial and the dock is protected from the sun. Generally these conditions would slow down evaporation and help dissipate vapors. The loading dock itself and several nearby offices have a campus phone that would help facilitate quick reporting of incidents. The storm sewer leads to a combined sewer. The combined volume of sewer effluent from the building and surrounding buildings would dilute 12 gallons of nitric acid sufficiently to minimize the effect to the downstream sewer system. A driver discovering or causing a spill would likely come into the facility to ask for help. Once facility people became involved the campus police would get involved and, along with other response agencies, take control of the scene.

Updated March 18, 2008 by SAK