USA - Deadly Hydrogen Fluoride

Deadly Hydrogen Fluoride Sent to Waste Treatment Plant EPA Records Show

 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 02:33 BY TONY RUTHERFORD HUNTINGTONNEWS.NET REPORTER

HF burn

File

Hydrogen fluoride is one of the many waste chemicals sent to the Huntington Wastewater Treatment Plant by Special Metals/Huntington Alloys, according to an EPA Waste Management file. The plant began receiving HF as early as 1987 and it has continued at least through 2010, the records show.

What is HF? It’s so dangerous that contact burns your skin. Whether you survive depends upon your health, concentration, length of exposure and other factors.

The gas was one of many that Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Worker, Jeff Walburn, was exposed to when he stood guard during the cleaning of high assey tubes that contained uranium and other radioactive matter.

Hydrogen fluoride activates “upon contact with moisture, including tissue” becoming hyrdrofluoric acid which requires immediate medical attention upon exposure, according to the Center for Disease Control and other sources....