Clouds of Hydrochloric Acid

[John Orr 206]

I washed a 4000 sq ft club house today and while there, the pool company arrived to work on the concrete pool that had been installed a few weeks ago. The pool is about 30 x 60 or so and 3' to 5' deep. There were 3 or 4 guys in the pool (no water , of course) applying HCI straight from the drums, then pressure washing, pumping out the slurry to the floor drain on the pool apron (which discharged directly into the Albamarle Sound!).

The way I found out about the acid is that I was washing the building when I was almost overcome by acid fumes. I looked around and there are these guys working in the pool with a cloud of acid drifting everywhere - and not one of them was wearing a respirator! (Let alone gloves or a face shield.) What in the world are they thinking?

This work was being done by a well-known pool company too. I will be calling their office tomorrow and "tattle" on their people. Depending on their response I may go to the state. I assume that the laborers don't know any better, but the foreman must. I'm getting a headache just thinking of the smell.

[Dave O 15]

I would agree on your actions John

[One Tough Pressure 580]

The things that people do never ceases to amaze me. From running gas powered items in an enclosed area, to using lethal amounts of chemicals in confined spaces seems to be an ongoing problem that has gained more attention these days.

I also agree that you need to call that company and say a few things. It is not just about them, but all that may be exposed to their unsafe ways.

[Jim Carroll 14]

they were acid washing the plaster. this is a common practice. i use acid based masonry cleaners all the time and it never bothers me or unless i get in one of those small clouds coming out of the drum. it sounds like it was more than just a littlle bit.

[David O'Connell Jr. 14]

Sounds like Muratic acid for sure. I have acid washed pools and chlorine washed them as well. Not the same pool, of course.

[sarowe 14]

Sounds serious enough to me that you may want to consider drafting a letter in addition to the phone call. Send it to the owner of the company. You may have to do some research but you can find it. This way you will have documentation exactly what happened and on what date and time. This will put a little scare into him and will surely get his attention. If you dont hear back from him or dont think they are listening to what your telling them then send a copy to the city. Good luck.

[John Orr 206]

The owner sounded like he was taking me seriously. He assured me that the proper PPE was available to his men and he will talk to the crew foreman to find out what was going on.

As for what the chem was, the drums were marked "Hydrochloric Acid". Needless to say, my customer will never allow these guys on property again without checking their PPE.

[sarowe 14]

Good job John. Safety first sometimes is easier said than done and we all need a little eye opener from time to time to remind us what really is important to us and our families and that is to come home just like we left. Thanks for sharing.

[Keth 15]

I would have called the EPA for the discharge into the sound. They have enough problems with fishkills there and they all wonder why.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

When it comes right down to it nothing but water should go down a drain into our waterways but the fact that they are built into concreted areas of neighborhoods, stores, and what have you is just plain begging for problems of polution runoff. Every entryway into waterways should be filtered at some level and sumped then we would almost not have any worries about what goes down drain. Storm drains themselves should be considered a crime in and of itself. ...

This case sounds horrific but it is likely way less of an environmental threat then say the all of a sudden flushing of parking lots and streets when the rain comes. It is almost a joke for people to be making a big hoopla about a little acid that probably nuetralized naturally a few hundred yards down the pipe by way of eating grime if we consider natural runoff. (Oil and cleaning chemicals that need breaking down are another matter of course). You swim in muratic adjusted swimming pools (fish don't though :) ) all the time but you don't swim in cleaners like hydroxcide, etc. persay..

The real polution in this case is the grime the acid ate in the pool and pipes that have no choice but to go out the sound some time or another. The question is how much at any one time..just my two cents..

[Keth 15]

I have a chemist friend who jokes....

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"