Broken Bottles Spill Acid, Evacuate Three Companies

A corrosive liquid that humans should not come come in contact with spilled in a Water Street business on Monday afternoon, prompting some other companies in the area to be evacuated.

The spill at Doe & Ingalls did not cause any injuries and was not expected to have any environmental impact.

It happened at about 1:40 p.m. when a forklift was taking a pallet of chemicals off a shelf to load a truck, said Danvers Fire Department Capt. Frank Sacco.

“A few bottles broke,” Sacco said, adding that between 6 and 8 gallons spilled. It was contained within the building.

After the spill, a company employee got into a Tyvex suit and donned a respirator and began to spread absorbent pads, Sacco said.

In addition to Doe & Ingalls, two other companies in the same building at 125 Water St. had to be evacuated.

“It’s a big building,” Sacco said.

About 15-20 employees were affected in all by the evacuation, including workers at Harvey Industries, Sacco said,

Traffic was never interrupted on Water Street.

The state Department of Environmental Protection was also notified. DEP spokesman Joe Ferson said that 12 2-1/2 liters bottles were broken.

“None of the workers were injured,” he said.

To cleanup the spill and monitor the safety of the air in the area, Deolia Environmental Solutions and Enpro Services were both hired by Doe & Ingalls, Ferson said.

“They have those two contractors working on the spill itself,” Ferson said.

Nitric acid is dangerous to humans when concentrated but it dissipates quickly, Ferson said.

Nobody answered the phone or returned at message left at Doe & Ingalls offices on Water Street. A company spokesman based in North Carolina also did not return a phone message or e-mail. Doe & Ingalls, which also has another Massachusetts facility in Medford, was purchased earlier this year by Thermo Fisher.