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Sunday night I was working in the shop doing the final buffing and waxing of a big bowl, and I kept noticing a strange, fume-like smell. The smell was familiar, but I couldn't place it. I figured it was either the buffing compound or wax throwing me for a loop. I got done with my work, and in the process of closing up the shop, I found the source of the smell. A gallon jug of industrial strength hydrochloric acid had leaked and run all along the front edge of the garage.
Now I don't typically keep things like gallon jugs of acid around, but this was something the previous owner had left behind, so I'd put it in my "hazmat" pile along with a few cans of old paint and other solvents that are illegal to throw in the regular trash. We don't have convenient Hazardous Waste drop-offs in my area, so I tend to accumulate them until they have a collection event in the neighborhood. (And I keep learning about them after the fact.)
The hazmat pile was stacked on an open shelf that's part of the melamine/particle board cabinets that were installed by the previous owner. The acid burned through the shelf, and made a long, thin puddle that nearly reached the other side of the garage. I immediately put on my heavy rubber gloves and eye protection, and mopped up as much as I could with paper towels, then sprinkled a couple boxes of baking soda on it to neutralize it. (Soaking up the liquid with paper towels was no fun. The fumes were very strong.) Here are a couple pics I took today of the covered puddle...
Here are a couple shots of the hazmat shelf, and the pile of acid-soaked woodchips I scraped out from under the cabinet. I need to figure out a way to cut out most of the shelf and lay a piece of 3/4" plywood on the remaining part...
The acid also dripped onto my old Craftsman toolbox. I don't think it's gonna survive, but the tools inside looked OK. Here's a pic after I'd scraped off most of the baking soda I'd poured on it last night...
Anyway, today, I got all the soda and acid chips cleaned up. The epoxy floor paint protected the concrete from being etched, but it is discolored, and blistered in a couple spots where I missed putting soda last night. I'm not real worried about stains on the floor, so all in all, everything worked out OK.
Or so I thought. The saga continues in the next post...
Now I don't typically keep things like gallon jugs of acid around, but this was something the previous owner had left behind, so I'd put it in my "hazmat" pile along with a few cans of old paint and other solvents that are illegal to throw in the regular trash. We don't have convenient Hazardous Waste drop-offs in my area, so I tend to accumulate them until they have a collection event in the neighborhood. (And I keep learning about them after the fact.)
The hazmat pile was stacked on an open shelf that's part of the melamine/particle board cabinets that were installed by the previous owner. The acid burned through the shelf, and made a long, thin puddle that nearly reached the other side of the garage. I immediately put on my heavy rubber gloves and eye protection, and mopped up as much as I could with paper towels, then sprinkled a couple boxes of baking soda on it to neutralize it. (Soaking up the liquid with paper towels was no fun. The fumes were very strong.) Here are a couple pics I took today of the covered puddle...
Here are a couple shots of the hazmat shelf, and the pile of acid-soaked woodchips I scraped out from under the cabinet. I need to figure out a way to cut out most of the shelf and lay a piece of 3/4" plywood on the remaining part...
The acid also dripped onto my old Craftsman toolbox. I don't think it's gonna survive, but the tools inside looked OK. Here's a pic after I'd scraped off most of the baking soda I'd poured on it last night...
Anyway, today, I got all the soda and acid chips cleaned up. The epoxy floor paint protected the concrete from being etched, but it is discolored, and blistered in a couple spots where I missed putting soda last night. I'm not real worried about stains on the floor, so all in all, everything worked out OK.
Or so I thought. The saga continues in the next post...