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Major acid leak creates vapour cloud over Hull Hull firefighters return to scene of acid leak at King George dock
(about 7 hours later)
People living in Hull have been asked to close their doors and windows after a major acid leak caused a vapour cloud to form over a dock in the east of the city. Firefighters have returned to the scene of a major acid leak in Hull that caused a vapour cloud to form over a dock in the east of the city.
Humberside fire and rescue said 50 firefighters were called to a “major acid leak” in a tank containing 580 tonnes of hydrochloric acid at the King George dock, near the river Hull, late on Monday. Emergency services had initially warned nearby residents to close their doors and windows as a precautionary measure after a tank containing 580 tonnes of hydrochloric acid sprang a leak at the King George dock late on Monday.
At about 2.30am the fire service said the wind was blowing a vapour cloud resulting from the leak away from houses in the area, but advised residents to close their doors and windows as a precaution. By the early hours of Tuesday morning, they said the wind was blowing the vapour away from houses in the area near the United Molasses site, where the leak occurred, and declared the area near the dock safe.
The leak did not lead to any evacuations, as it was at the east end of the dock, which borders wasteland. Crews had contained the leak by 4.20am and were scaling down their operation. However, speaking to the Hull Daily Mail on Tuesday afternoon, a spokeswoman from Humberside fire and rescue service confirmed that firefighters had since returned to the site. A number of emergency service vehicles, including an ambulance, could be seen waiting on standby nearby.
On Tuesday morning, the fire service said the cloud had gone and declared the area near the dock safe. An employee of Associated British Ports (ABP), which runs the dock, told the Hull Daily Mail workers had been told to stay indoors because of “an unstable acid tank”.
“We heard that first thing this morning when we came in just before 9am. We’re just in the block where we go for our break. We were told to close windows and doors and not move until further notice,” said the employee, who did not want to be named.
“It’s potentially a leak in a second tank. We were told that it was heating up and that could cause a rupture.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Simon Donnachie from Humberside fire and rescue service said: “With any sort of corrosive leak you’re going to have some sort of vapour cloud. Due to the time of the day, the location and the direction of wind, there were no real issues to public health.”
He said emergency services had tested the gas cloud for acidity and that the risk it posed to human health was minimal. “[The cloud] dissipated a short distance so we were not concerned about it reaching villages,” he said. “We were more concerned about ABP as a site.”
United Molasses describes itself as focused on the global trading and marketing of molasses, vegetable oils and related products and the storage of bulk liquids.
The Environment Agency confirmed it had attended the site in the early hours of Tuesday. It said there appeared to be no leakage into the Humber or any other environmental impact.The Environment Agency confirmed it had attended the site in the early hours of Tuesday. It said there appeared to be no leakage into the Humber or any other environmental impact.
A spokesperson from the Health and Safety Executive said it was aware of the incident and was liaising with the Environment Agency. “We will carry out an investigation once the initial incident has been fully dealt with,” it said.