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Chemical accident in Mooresville heightens disposal concerns
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Published: November 25, 2009
Town and county sanitation officials said a chemical spill Monday that injured two sanitation workers underscored the dangers of residents disposing of hazardous waste in their garbage cans.
The Monday incident temporarily shut down the Mooresville Transfer Station.
About 10:30 a.m., two Town of Mooresville employees received minor burns when acid-based materials in a residential trash can on Boger Street created a small explosion as they were collected and compressed in a garbage truck.
Mooresville Fire Battalion Chief J.L. Barrier said town firefighters and the Mooresville Hazardous Materials (Haz-mat) squad were called to the scene.
Additional contamination occurred at the transfer station on N.C. 150 when the town garbage truck was unloaded. To neutralize the chemical waste there and in the truck, a special cleanup company was brought in. The transfer station reopened to the public by 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Barrier said the two injured workers were treated for minor burns and released.
David Lambert, director of solid waste for Iredell County, said that "whoever disposed this material made a mistake." He said chemical waste spills are not common in the county, and that he only recalled one other incident, in Statesville, in the past 16 years.
However, he and Mooresville Public Works Manager John Finan said events such as this reiterate the need for the proper disposal of chemical materials.
"It's a dangerous profession and we always seek to protect employees," said Finan.
Lambert noted that residents should contact the Iredell County Solid Waste Department whenever they are unsure about the safe handling and disposal of any chemicals.
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