FDNY HAZMAT Company No. 1

Local news report on the incident from the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill news publication:

Sanitation Workers Injured By Acid At Brooklyn Tech Identified

The Sanitation Department identified two workers injured after handling improperly discarded acid outside Brooklyn Tech this morning.

They are Valentine Davis, 46, and Nigel Evelyn, 53. Both have been with DSNY since 1997.

The two were released from Brooklyn Hospital today after receiving treatment for minor burns. The condition of a third victim, a janitor at the school, is not known.

“The environmental police unit is still doing an investigation so we don’t know exactly where the substance came from yet," said a DSNY spokesman.

Update, 2:17 p.m.: The hazardous material that sent two sanitation workers and a Brooklyn Tech custodian to the hospital with minor burns was confirmed to be a muriatic acid, commonly known as hydrochloric acid, according to FDNY Division 11 Deputy Chief Vinny Mandala.

According to Mandala, the type of muriatic acid found this morning is commonly used for swimming pool maintenance.

Mandala said that probably less than a gallon of the substance was spilled. Though the substance was found in the school's trash, he said he doubted the acid came from the Brooklyn Tech campus.

An investigation is ongoing.

---

Two sanitation employees collecting trash Monday morning outside Brooklyn Tech in Fort Greene were injured after coming into contact with an improperly discarded hazardous substance, a fire official confirmed at the scene.

The substance, described by the fire official as hydrocloric acid, can cause burns if exposed to the skin and respiratory distress if fumes are inhaled.

The two sanitation workers were sent to Brooklyn Hospital. Another man, a custodian at the school, was also taken to Brooklyn Hospital. All three suffered minor chemical burns, according to the Fire Department of New York.

According to the FDNY, the incident occurred at 9:40 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., members of the Hazardous Materials Unit were still seen in the middle of the block wearing protective masks on Fort Greene Place between Dekalb Avenue and Fulton Street.

A bystander, Rebecca Narva, said she saw men in silver protective suits cleaning the back of a garbage truck at the location.

The block was quarantined by fire officials. No evacuations were ordered, according to the FDNY.

One resident of the block, who did want to be identified, said police told her she could not pass through the cordon to her apartment.

A fire official said she doubted that the suspected hydrocloric acid came from one of Brooklyn Tech's classrooms.

"This was just thrown in the trash without any protective covering," she said.