Nitric acid chemical leak reported in Baltimore's Hawkins Point - Baltimore Sun

Nitric acid chemical leak reported in Baltimore’s Hawkins Point

The Baltimore City Fire Department responded to a chemical leak at a W.R. Grace and Company facility in Hawkins Point shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday.

“Units have mitigated the incident without any known injuries. The leaking vessel has been removed from the scene,” fire department spokesperson Michael Winn said.

The incident occurred at 5500 Chemical Road, Winn said.

In an email, Maryland Department of the Environment spokesperson Jay Apperson said a vacuum truck leaked 50-75 gallons of nitric acid, adding “there is no off-site impact.”

“The truck was inside a temporary secondary containment structure that had been set up as a precaution before the release. The leaking gasket was secured and the truck was relocated to the facility’s on-site wastewater treatment plant for the remaining material in the truck to be neutralized and treated. Soda ash was applied to the spilled acid in the containment area to neutralize that material,” Apperson said.

“The facility or a contractor is responsible for cleaning up the spill,” Apperson emailed.

W.R. Grace and Company, a chemical company based in Columbia, said Friday afternoon there was no harm done.

“There has been no harm to our employees, contractors, the surrounding community or the environment. We are taking all proper measures to investigate its cause,” W.R. Grace spokesperson Tracy Pogue said in an email.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nitric acid is a colorless liquid used to manufacture fertilizers and dyes, among other purposes. Exposure to the acid can cause discomfort, such as skin or eye irritation, or more serious health problems like lung inflammation and bronchitis.

City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter said her office scrambled Friday morning to communicate information to constituents about the latest potential environmental disaster in the area.

“This particular community has existed with these types of environmental harms for generations, I am doing everything possible within my office’s capacity to defend and advocate for them, but the environmental injustice and racism that is happening is totally disheartening,” Porter said. “There is no reasonable follow up. We’re trying to change that.”

In December 2021, an explosion at coal plant operated by railway company CSX in Curtis Bay created an enormous shockwave across the city but did not injure any workers. A year later the Maryland Department of the Environment settled with CSX for a $15,000 penalty and $100,000 to a local nonprofit — the South Baltimore Community Land Trust — for an environmental project. Curtis Bay residents are currently suing CSX over health concerns related to coal dust.

In March 2022, a fire at Petroleum Management Inc. in Curtis Bay killed a 52-year-old employee. Friday afternoon, residents called on Governor Wes Moore and Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain to declare an air pollution emergency in the area.

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“In light of the commitment expressed by local, state, and federal officials to environmental justice, we implore Governor Wes Moore and Secretary Serena Mcllwain to take immediate action. Today’s nitric acid spill is not an isolated incident; it adds to a cumulative burden of environmental injustice that our community faces on a daily basis,” Greg Sawtell, co-president of the Community of Curtis Bay Association said.

“We urge Governor Wes Moore and Secretary Serena Mcllwain to demonstrate their commitment to environmental justice by declaring an “Air Pollution Emergency” in Curtis Bay and allocating the necessary resources to address the chronic air pollution crisis faced by our residents,” he said.

Meleny Thomas, executive director of the nonprofit South Baltimore Community Land Trust, said she heard about the Friday incident from a group chat full of area residents, who were still searching for answers Friday afternoon about what substances were spilled and what precautions they should be taking.

”They said that it’s contained, but again, everything has been so vague,” Thomas said.

Even when incidents do not inflict direct harm on the community, as in the instance of the coal explosion, they add stressors to a community already burdened by industrial activity, she said.

”These incidents continue to happen, and they add up,” she said. “So, they have cumulative impacts.”