Acid spill prompts evacuation of 5,000

WIND GAP, Pa. (AP) — A tractor-trailer carrying a dangerous acid overturned on a highway Saturday, prompting authorities to order thousands of residents to leave town for almost nine hours.

The tanker, carrying 33,000 pounds of corrosive hydrofluoric acid, a component for household detergents, flipped over about 3 a.m. on the edge of Wind Gap, about 60 miles north of Philadelphia.

At 7 a.m., officials ordered an evacuation of 944 households. They said about 5,000 people were in the affected area.

Northampton County spokesman John Conklin said the truck driver was treated at a hospital and was released.

The tanker truck was righted at about 3:10 p.m., and the evacuation order was lifted soon after.

Hydrofluoric acid, even in low doses, can irritate the eyes, nose and respiratory tract, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. In higher doses, exposure can cause severe burns, chronic lung disease or even death.