A spill of solvents at a warehouse in Utah April 14 killed the plant manager, injured four emergency response personnel, and caused the evacuation of about 1000 people in a neighboring industrial park. About 900 gallons of trichloroethylene (TCE) and 300 gallons of xylene spilled from a storage tank in a warehouse when a ladder slipped and broke off a 3/4" valve; the plant manager was overcome by fumes and never recovered. The warehouse is owned by the Hodson Chemical Construction Corp. of North Salt Lake City.
--Peter Montague, Ph.D.

Descriptor terms: ut; spills; tce; death; solvents; xylene; storage tank; hodson chemical construction; evacuations;