Acid in the air

A sulfuric acid leak at BWC Terminals, a bulk liquid storage facility, in southeast Texas caused two people to be sent to the hospital, and over 40 people being treated.  Deputies said the incident began when a catwalk structure collapsed onto a 6-inch sulfuric acid supply line at the industrial plant. Environmental monitoring was undertaken and ongoing after about 1 million gallons of sulfuric acid stored in a tank were released, with some leaking into the Houston Ship Channel. BWC Terminals later clarified in a statement that the affected tank was carrying 1 million gallons, but most of it was released into the facility's designated containment area. The company added that an unknown amount of product entered the water of the Houston Ship Channel and that there were no reported impacts on marine life.