Ministry Urges Safe Disposal After Acid Incident
After two workers were treated in hospital after accidentally being sprayed with acid while collecting garbage, the Public Works Ministry has urged the public not to not place hazardous substances in their garbage.
A Government statement said, “The Ministry of Public Works would like to urge the public to properly dispose of waste materials, particularly hazardous materials or substances following an industrial accident in which two garbage collection workers were sprayed with acid while in the course of collecting garbage.
“The incident occurred around 10am on Friday morning when two garbage collection workers were splashed with what appeared to be Muriatic Acid, a power acid normally used for the cleaning of swimming pools, that was put out for collection in a regular garbage bag.
“It appears that when the garbage was being compacted, the container sprayed the contents in the direction of the operatives. Consequently they were taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and treated for contact to exposure to the substance and given eye drops and provided other treatments and released.
“The Ministry strongly encourages residents to properly dispose of hazardous substances and not place hazardous substances, including faeces, into their garbage. Residents are advised to take advantage of the Special Waste Days held during the year. The 2013 Special Waste Days are on May 17th and 18th, and November 1st and 2nd at the Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility on Palmetto Road, Devonshire.
“The following items, if placed into regular garbage can present a health risk for Bermuda’s environment and residents. If disposed of correctly these items are sent overseas for recycling, benefiting all of us in Bermuda by keeping us safe from potential environmental hazards, and benefiting our planet by reusing or recycling the end product.
- Compact fluorescent bulbs or CFLs
- Fluorescent tubes
- Household batteries
- Vehicle batteries
- PVC pipes
- Used motor oils
- Used paint cans
- Pesticides
- Acids
- Caustics
- Pool cleaners
“While the Ministry is happy to acknowledge these employees have been released from hospital and recovering from their ordeal, the potential exposure to the substance could have been more tragic, so the Ministry reiterates its call for the public to properly dispose of their waste and not place hazardous materials into their garbage,” the statement from Government concluded.
Who in their right mind would throw away good acid? This is sad and a no-brainer. Hope the men are doing well and recover quickly, the fumes can be pretty gnarly.
Speaking of trash my friend in St. George’s says her garbage is now picked up on Wednesday’s instead of Tuesday which is the normal day. This means trash is left out all day and all night…. encouraging rats.
Let’s try and be a little more thoughtful people
“Consequently they were taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and treated for contact to exposure to the substance and given eye drops and provided other treatments and released.”
Please tell me that these guys have eye washes on-board the trucks along with other first aid items.
wow this is so sad, I hope these workers are ok. Some people are just so stupid cause we all know that we are not suppose to put stuff like that in the trash. I hope the person who done that knows better for next time. smdh!! May these workers recover fully.
Hope they catch that person who put that there … i will n3va pick up there trash ever again dumb idiot who eva that was
no feces? so what are we supposed to be doing with dirty diapers?
Back in the day we used to flush the # 2 down the toilet and hope the napkin did’nt go as well. It might be a bit difficult with a pamper .Sorry I have not provided a good useable ans.
Any one who has ever used this type of acid know full well how quickly it can cause a burn ,eat concrete and clean like nothing else can.The fumes are even dangerous . Just wandering if there is a violation of an act for this type of action ,if not there should be .This could have been a lot worst.
Be careful with broken glass as well ,dont just put it in a trash bag as it can cut through the bag and then cut the guys picking it up.. I am just glad to see that some of the most needed workers are safe and on the mend.