Traffic in an industrial park in Marietta was shut down for hours Tuesday morning as firefighters from both Cobb County and Marietta responded to a situation involving hazardous materials.
Firefighters arrived at the AFCO Food and Beverage plant at 990 Industrial Park Drive around 5:30 a.m. and shut down the roads in the immediate area, Cobb fire spokesman Lt. Steve Bennett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the scene. He described the situation as a “small hazmat incident,” with no injuries and no danger to the surrounding area.
Though the plant, which makes cleaning products for the food and beverage processing industry, is located in Marietta, Cobb fire was called in for support due to their more advanced hazmat unit.
According to Bennett, the initial call was made by an automated system at the plant that sensed heat and turned on the sprinklers along with calling 911. That heat produced an “organic acid-based compound which had a thermal reaction inside a storage tank,” he said.
Marietta fire responded to the facility and found no fire, Bennett said. Marietta officials shut off the sprinklers and called Cobb fire once they determined they were dealing with a hazmat situation, Bennett said.
Plant personnel were notified by emergency dispatchers and stopped their employees from entering the building as the hazmat crews dealt with the storage tank of acid, Bennett said. Other workers in the area were allowed through to their jobs and no buildings in the area were evacuated. According to Bennett, the roads were shut down for the safety of the fire crews in the darkness before sunrise.
Roads in the area were reopened to traffic around 10 a.m. and firefighters in hazmat suits exited the facility around 10:40 a.m.
Just before midday, the hazmat crew was still working to “mitigate” the acid by adding “an organic caustic material so they can make it more environmentally friendly and easier to deal with,” Bennett said.
Acids, which have a negative pH balance, can be neutralized by a basic or alkaline solution, which would have a positive pH. Solutions that are more neutral, like drinking water, tend to be less reactive with a wide range of materials.
According to Bennett, Marietta firefighters responded to another hazmat call at the AFCO facility last week, though he did not have any details about the situation because Cobb fire was not involved.
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