Thousands of litres of hazardous
waste spilled at a Fonterra plant in Southland early this morning. Emergency
services were called to the Edendale factory just after 2am when staff reported
5000-litre tanks of nitric acid and caustic alkali were overflowing. Fire
Service assistant area commander Dean Chalmers said the tanks were overflowing
into a specifically designed catchment area but staff were concerned about the
danger of the chemicals mixing and reacting together. Nitric acid and caustic
alkali are used to clean milk tankers and inside the factory. "All the
safety systems at Fonterra have kicked into gear. The bunded area has
successfully contained the two chemicals and there hasn't been any chemical
mixing at all," Chalmers said. No one was hurt by the chemical release.