By Rhiannon Saegert
The Charlotte Observer
SPRING, Texas — A sanitation worker was hospitalized after someone on their trash pickup route threw out a container of muriatic acid with the household garbage, Texas firefighters say.
Firefighters with The Woodlands Fire Department responded to a call on the morning of March 8 to assist the Spring Fire Department, initially expecting to see a trash truck on fire when they arrived, according to a Facebook post.
Instead, firefighters found a crushed container of muriatic acid, a diluted form of hydrochloric acid commonly used for pool maintenance. When the trash truck compacted the garbage, the liquid turned to gas and sent up a plume that onlookers confused for smoke.
In liquid form, muriatic acid causes chemical burns on bare skin, and in gas form it can cause respiratory problems and edema if inhaled, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It is illegal to dispose of hazardous materials in household trash, and whether done ignorantly or callously, this created a dangerous situation that put one person in the hospital,” The Woodlands Fire Department said.
A hazmat crew cleaned up the spill and decontaminated the exposed worker, who was then taken to a hospital for observation, according to the fire department.
Gage Hogan, a worker on the three-person crew, thanked the department for spreading the word.
“Putting prohibited items in your garbage is a danger to us who work in this industry,” he said on his Facebook page.
In comments, Hogan said the person who threw the container away came forward and admitted their mistake.
Spring is about a 30-mile drive north from Houston.
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