Timet spill sends harmless cloud over city

Valerie Miller

Friday, Nov. 26, 1999 | 11:05 a.m.

No one was injured and public safety was not endangered Thursday when a pressure gauge erupted on a tank at Titanium Metals Corp., resulting in a chemical spill outside the plant and a large cloud over the city.

About 50 gallons of titanium tetrachloride escaped the tank during the incident, which occurred just before 11:30 a.m.

The Timet plant, 8000 West Lake Mead Drive, was not evacuated and Henderson Fire Department officials said the amount of the chemical in the air did not pose a health hazard to residents.

"The percentage of the chemical in the air was not high enough to create a potential danger," Jeff Lytle, a captain with the Henderson Fire Department, said. "The amount of the chemical released was not enough to cause people significant health problems."

Titanium tetrachloride has been added to the state's highly hazardous substances list and is used in the chemical process of manufacturing titanium metal.

Timet is surrounded by alarms that go off if the percentage of titanium tetrachloride or another chemical released is 3 percent or more, Lytle said.

"None of the alarms went off, and we tested the alarms with computers to make sure that they were working, so we know the percentage was below 3 percent," Lytle said.

The chemical released in the leak, titanium tetrachloride, Lytle said, turns into hydrochloride, or hydrochloric acid, when it is exposed to moisture, which could have been dangerous if it had been raining.

Close to 30 members of the Clark County Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Team and the Henderson Fire Department responded but the leak had already been contained by the time they arrived, Hazmat Capt. Scott Taggard said.

"A gauge broke on a tank, which I believe was outside, and about 50 gallons of this liquid chemical (titanium tetrachloride) squirted out into this outside area," Taggard said. "When we got there, they (Timet workers) were pretty much mopping up."

The Timet crew, suited with breathing respirators, did run into some problems in containing the leak.

"They first tried to neutralize the chemical that was leaking with water, which didn't work, and then they smothered the chemical with dirt," Taggard said.

It took about 15 minutes before the Timet crew could reach a valve located behind the gauge to shut down the leak, Clark County Fire Department Battalion Chief Steven Smith said.

It was a combination of the titanium tetrachloride vapors leaking into the air and smoke from the attempts to stop the chemical leak that likely caused the large cloud that hung over much of downtown Henderson for close to an hour, Smith said.

"The cloud hung out there for awhile because of the low wind -- about one mile an hour," Smith said. "The dark smoke was probably from smothering the fire, while the white color was a byproduct of the titanium tetrachloride."

The exact cause of the gauge rupturing was not determined Thursday, but an investigation will be conducted, according to Taggard.

"Our (Clark County) Fire Prevention Division will follow up next with an investigation next week," Taggard said. "It looked worse than it was, because of the big cloud. When you say 50 gallons, it seems like a lot, but it isn't in comparison to what could happen out there."

Titanium Metals Corp. makes titanium used in aircraft, hip joints, golf clubs and other products. The company, located at the Basic Industrial Management Inc. complex, has had a history of accidents, explosions fires and spills in its nearly half-century of operation.

The state has cited the plant for up to 90 serious violations. In 1996, Timet agreed to pay $125,265 in fines for numerous safety violations, including one that contributed to a worker's death in January 1995.

Douglas Sloan, 45, died when he was overcome in the plant by toxic argon gas, after climbing to the bottom of an argon tank to retrieve a tool.

In 1997 state and county officials investigated multiple accidents at the plant, including an explosion that injured two workers.

In August of 1998 a spill of up to 1,000 pounds of molten magnesium triggered an explosion at Timet that lit up the Henderson skyline. No one was hurt, but the explosion caused a chemical fire that burned for about three hours and forced 40 workers on the graveyard shift to evacuate.

The fire caused about $300,000 in damage to air pollution control equipment at the plant.

In January of this year the plant experienced a small pipe and duct fire in leaching building No. 8. The fire quickly burned itself out, causing minimal damage.

Las Vegas Sun

reporter Jace Radke contributed to this story.