At around 10:30 a.m., a visitor noticed fumes coming out of a container of used oil at a household waste recycling centre. Noticing a pungent odour, a worker blocked access to the container. The centre was evacuated and closed. A 10 m cordon was set up. Three workers were taken to hospital for dizziness. Firefighters sprayed the inside of the container of oil with foam.

The contractor in charge of hazardous waste management was contacted to examine the container. The fumes and odours came from a jug of highly concentrated hydrochloric acid that was found in a pallet container next to the oil containers. The jug had been left by a visitor who did not follow the rules on dropping off hazardous waste. The visitor had poured part of the contents of the jug of acid into the container of used oil and then discarded the jug. The jug was safely isolated and stored in a hazardous waste cabinet. The firefighters left at 11:30 a.m. The container was emptied and cleaned.

At 2:30 p.m., fumes were reported once again. The container was moved to an isolated spot on the storage area for empty fill-in skips and absorbent was spread out around it. The fumes disappeared at 3:30 p.m.

The event shows that the centre’s layout and the number of staff overseeing depositing operations are unable to cope with the number of visitors.