AUBURN — Emergency responders early Friday evening went to Savage Safe Handling at 123 Rodman Road for a report of a spill of 600 gallons of sodium hydroxide, or lye.
According to dispatchers, 100 gallons went into a nearby storm drain. The other 500 gallons spilled onto pavement. Environmental experts were called to the scene.
Also called caustic soda, sodium hydroxide is a white, solid, highly caustic alkali substance that is soluble in water. Many industries use it as a chemical base to make pulp and paper, textiles, soaps, detergents, drain cleaners and more. Undiluted, it can quickly cause chemical burns.
An Auburn fire official said at about 8:30 p.m. that the spilled substance had been neutralized. Department of Environmental Protection officials were working with Savage Safe Handling staff to finish cleaning the spill.
According to the company’s website, the business is “a full-service, bulk product transportation and toll processing company. We operate the largest rail-to-truck transloading facilities in New England and Western Pennsylvania allowing our customers to leverage the benefits of both rail and trucking. In addition, we have ISO 9001:2000-certified manufacturing facilities where we blend liquid chemicals for regional deliveries. Each year we handle nearly a half-a-million tons of products.”
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