At 9 pm, a driver noticed a leak on a road tanker containing hydrochloric acid parked in the transport company’s washing zone; he duly informed site supervisors. The load was transferred into another tanker. The 2 m³ of product lost were collected in the zone’s retention basin. This load was then transported to the client, who refused delivery since the product had been discoloured by contact with the steel on the damaged tanker.

This leak occurred subsequent to debonding of the inner lining on the tanker’s right side, after which acid had perforated the steel. The left-side lining had been repaired in April 2012. The inspection performed at that time had not exposed any of the right-side damage. The shipper decided to: formalise tanker lining inspections by means of a checklist, reduce to one year the interval between tanker inspections, and prohibit any delivery of a transferred product for technical reasons.