On 4th February 2005 a storage tank containing 16,300 t of 96 % sulphuric acid ruptured. The entire contents of the tank were spilled out into the bund and then overflowed out into the nearby dock. The environmental consequences of the accident were quite significant, the sulphuric acid emission had a serious effect on local flora in the inner and deepest parts of the harbor and harbor entrance area. When the sulphuric acid came into contact with the salt water an exothermic reaction occurred, producing a vapour cloud consisting of hydrogen chloride that drifted northwards along the coastline in the direction of the wind. Fortunately, the wind was blowing towards the sea and away from populated land areas and the cloud diluted very quickly. After the spill approximately 2,000 t of contaminated sulphuric acid remained in the bund. The acid also soaked into about 100,000 square metres of the ground surrounding the spill.
The cause of this incident was a leak in an underground coolant supply pipe of reinforced concrete installed over fourty years before that resulted in a weakening of the ground under the tank farm. Apparently, water forced its way out of the pipe, eroding the ground near and around the sulphuric acid tank. This erosion damaged the ground under the tank which ultimately failed due to the lack of sup-port of the tank floor. A study of the appearance of the involved part of the coolant supply pipe suggests that the corrosion was a result of an acidic attack on the concrete.
Source: European commission
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