Firefighters Find Bucket of Nitric Acid on Street
County firefighters found a five-gallon bucket containing nitric acid near a Compton intersection Monday, after a Federal Express driver reported smelling chemicals.
The intersection at Rosecrans Avenue and San Pedro Street was blocked at 4 p.m. as a county hazardous materials unit prepared to remove the bucket, which held about three gallons of the compound, said fire Inspector Joel Harrison.
“In large quantities, the acid can be real nasty stuff . . . the cloud it gives off can be very toxic,” Harrison said. “Fortunately, this is a small amount.” Harrison said it was unclear how the bucket wound up in the street.
Earlier, one person apparently suffered minor injuries when a couple of containers of muriatic acid and chlorine fell from a truck at Rosecrans and Shoemaker avenues in Norwalk, Harrison said.
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