Near miss with bleach - acid tanker stopped discharging

A tanker delivery of 14% bleach was expected at one site on the complex. The tanker driver took a wrong turning and arrived at a different company who were also expecting a delivery, not of bleach but of 35% hydrochloric acid.

In spite of the paper work being incorrect (wrong chemical and wrong company name) the driver was able to pass through 3 checks and connect up to a hydrochloric acid storage tank.

Just prior to the start of transfer a leak was noticed which was reacting with material in the bund. Fortunately the operation was stopped, if it had proceeded it would have resulted in a huge chlorine cloud spreading across a highly populated area.