A truck carrying 800 l of ferric chloride arrived at a waste treatment plant and was taken by an employee to the unloading area. The employee marked off the unloading station then went to fetch the unloading authorisation. In the meantime, the driver of the truck decided to remove the cap on the station, as the drain valve was closed (the truck was not yet hooked up to the station). As he unscrewed the cap from the station’s pipe system, he was sprayed in the eyes with ferric chloride despite wearing a face shield. The driver rinsed his eyes with a bottle of water and then a first aid solution for multipurpose washing and emergency to rinse the eyes. Emergency services were notified. The truck was left at the waste treatment plant until another driver could come to pick it up.

The following measures have been adopted since the accident:

• check the ferric chloride unloading valve for leaks;
• remind drivers to not leave their parking spot and to not begin unloading until the works officer returns;
• decide who is in charge of hooking up vehicles to the station;
• investigate the causes of the drain valve remaining closed (deviation from procedure during a previous unloading operation?);
• look into the possibility of locking the drain valve in the open position (except during unloading);
• specify the required PPE (the driver was wearing a permeable face shield) and exact order of unloading operations in the unloading procedure.