Las Vegas, Nev.-A hotel visitor apparently out jogging was treated and released from a local hospital after he slipped and fell in a pool of sulfuric acid that leaked from a broken plastic underground line during a delivery Thursday, Jan. 7, for use in water systems at Wynn’s resort on the Las Vegas strip. Clark County emergency responders said the unidentified man was out running in sweats and gloves at the time, which saved him from more serious injury. “He had on the clothing which saved him, when he could have suffered severe acid burns,” Clark County HazMat Coordinator Richard Brenner told Green Markets. But traffic along famous Las Vegas Boulevard didn’t fare as well, being shut down for more than two hours to keep people from being exposed to the corrosive chemical. Brenner said the pipe failed underground in a spot at the front entrance to the resort, releasing 200 gallons of acid that saturated the ground and surfaced in a planter. He said the hotel personnel responded very quickly to the acid release and the engineering staff is investigating the break in the special type of PVDF pipe widely used in these installations. Workers were also sent out to remove and replace the contaminated soil and replant the flowers ruined by the acid. Soda ash was used to counteract the acidity of the sulfuric acid. Wynn’s said the chemical that spilled was being delivered for use as an acidity regulator in the resort water feature, the “Lake of Dreams” fronting Las Vegas Boulevard.
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