Acid Spill Sickens 21 At Boeing Plant

An acid spill forced the evacuation of a Boeing fabrication plant twice on Wednesday and sickened 21 people who complained of eye and throat irritation, nausea and headaches, the Auburn Fire Department said.

Those in distress were checked at the scene and 20 of the 21 were transported to area hospitals, department spokeswoman Kimberly Cunningham said.

The spill was reported at 5:15 a.m. when a 1-1/2-inch line on a 55,000-gallon tank broke, spilling nitric, sulfuric and hydroflouric acids at a rate of about 20 to 30 gallons a minute, she said.

The acids are used to clean airplane parts and can react with metals to produce harmful fumes, she said.

The spill was limited to a holding area, and a three-person hazardous materials team entered the area in protective suits to investigate.

Employees in the building had been evacuated before firefighters arrived and were allowed to return to work about 10 a.m.