NORTH SMITHFIELD – An area hazmat team responded to a North Smithfield transfer station Tuesday afternoon after a spill of around five to ten gallons of hydrochloric acid.
The spill took place at Link Environmental Transfer Station at 14 Canal St., a waste facility operated by B.F.I./Allied Waste that serves residents in North Smithfield and Woonsocket.
Initial reports that the spill was much larger were inaccurate, according to North Smithfield Fire Chief David Chartier.
One employee at the facility was taken to the hospital after complaining that his eyes were burning, according to Chartier, and was treated and released.
The chief said that the incident caused no danger to area residents.
He noted that the spill, which was called in around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26., came from a container inside a dumpster at the facility.
“We had to have hazmat crews come in because we didn’t know exactly what we were dealing with,” Chartier said.
A regional hazmat team from Woonsocket responded to the incident.
“They neutralized the hazard, and the company was taking measures to have it cleaned up,” the chief said.
