HUTCHINSON TECHNOLOGY INC

Five Employees Are Exposed to Chemical Spill

On April 7, 2008, Employee #1, a chemical technician was filling chemical orders in the West Chemical Storage Room for use in other parts of the facility. He mi stakenly mixed hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid. He then capped the conta iner containing the inadvertent mixture; stepped away from the cart to rinse his funnel in a sink; and, upon returning, noticed a discoloration of the liquid in the container. He recognized his error, realized that a chemical reaction was u nderway in the capped container, and attempted to transfer the offending contain er to another area using a cart. Upon rounding a corner at a hallway intersectio n referred to as the crossroads, the container rolled off of the cart, split alo ng one side from top to bottom, and spilled the majority of its contents. Employ ee #1 immediately started to clean up the spill using absorbent pads. The locati on where the container split was immediately outside of a room that contained a Zellweger System 16 gas detection system. At the time of the spill, the room's d oor was open and a portion of the spilled material entered the room. Gas from th e event caused staining of the system tape and triggered a Chlorine alarm in sev eral remote basement locations. There was no sampling port in the room containin g the system because a chlorine spill was not expected at that location. The Chl orine alarm triggered an evacuation of the basement and a call for the hazmat te am to report to the crossroads. Upon reporting to the crossroads, the team disco vered that the crossroads was the location of the incident and that a cleanup wa s already in progress. Team members left for a nearby storage area, donned SCBAs , and returned to check the area for victims. Employees #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5 we re transported to the Hutchinson Hospital for observation, but were treated and released.