Saddleback / South Beach : LAKE FOREST : Road Closed After Crash Spills Chemicals
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Two people suffered minor injuries in a collision that caused 20 gallons of swimming pool chemicals to spill on El Toro Road and shut down traffic for about an hour Tuesday morning, authorities said.
A pickup truck driven by Sang You, 34, and a car driven by Juan Vargas-Palomeque, 25, collided at Aliso Park Drive and El Toro Road about 7:20 a.m., Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Leonard said.
You was carrying the pool chemicals in the back of his pickup.
Leonard said one of the drivers ran a red light but it hadn’t been determined whether it was You or Vargas-Palomeque.
County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said four gallons of muriatic acid and 16 gallons of chlorine were spilled in the accident.
When mixed, the two chemicals produced toxic vapors that can be “a real powerful respiratory irritant,” she said.
Muriatic acid, a common industrial cleaning agent, can cause irritation to the eyes and skin.
The county’s hazardous materials unit and firefighters used soda ash to neutralize the acid and washed it down with water.
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