Acid-splashed workers could have been blinded

Two garbage workers who escaped being blinded or badly burned when a container of corrosive acid burst as they crushed waste in their truck yesterday appealed for people to think before dumping dangerous substances in their trash.

A total of three men suffered acid injuries to their eyes and breathed in fumes after the container squirted acid from the back of their truck as they compacted waste.

Truck driver Robert Somner and garbage collectors Kevin Lapsley and Harrington Smith all needed hospital treatment after they were hit by muriatic acid — another name for hydrochloric acid and often used to clean drains — as they picked up trash in Pembroke’s Curving Avenue.

Mr Somner, who was at the side of the truck operating the crusher, said he suffered injuries to his eyes after fumes from the acid were blown out the side of the truck.

He added: “It was extremely itchy — I washed them out back at the depot then went to the hospital. They put some drops in my eyes and flushed them out and gave me some drops to put in them over the weekend.”

Blinded

He added: “It could have been a lot worse — it could have splashed in our eyes and really burned us. It could have badly burned or blinded. All three of us had a very lucky escape.”

Mr Lapsley, from Pembroke, added: “I inhaled some of it because I could feel it in my throat. I got my throat checked at the hospital and to see if I had got any in my lungs.”

Tynes Bay incinerator solid waste manager Alan Hunt said: “They could easily have been blinded — you would think that the general public would be mindful that our crews have to handle the waste.

“The thought that people would dispose of very hazardous waste like this is mind-boggling.”

He added: “We have a hazardous waste drop off point to ensure that dangerous waste is disposed of properly.”

And he warned that the garbage collection department, if they found evidence like letters with names and addresses alongside waste that should not go into general trash, offenders could face heavy fines.

Mr Hunt said: “If people are not sure what to do with particular waste, they can call us and we can give them instructions on what they need to do.”

And he added that the department would look at running adverts on the Government CiTV channel to increase awareness of the risks of dumping dangerous material in household trash.

The incident happened as the crew picked up trash in the Curving Avenue area of Pembroke last Friday morning.

No excuse

Mr Hunt said: “This will continue to happen if people don’t think carefully about what they are doing. There is no excuse for disregarding other people’s health.”

Mr Somner, from Sandys, added: “I’d just like for people to be a bit more careful what they put in the trash. A trashman has to pick up that stuff and we’re people just like them.

“We’re there to make sure the island stays beautiful and clean and people should respect us for that.”

Mr Hunt added that other hazards crews faced were things like dog faeces, which could also spurt out of trucks when trash was compacted, and drivers and riders who sped past trucks as workers picked up bags at the roadside.

He said: “People need to be far more careful — we have had people clipped by cars and bikes speeding past trucks.”

Mr Lapsley said crews tried to help by stationing a member to wave traffic past stationary trucks when safe to pass.

But he added: “Some people still don’t have any patience.” n