Merichem Sodium Sulfite Barge; Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge, LA | 2004-Aug-18

Initial Notification: The NOAA SSC received a phone call from MSU Baton Rouge concerning a leaky barge that had sent 3 workers to the hospital. The barge containing aqueous Sodium Sulfide was loaded in Beaumont, TX and transported to Houston, TX, where some of the solution was discharged for lightering. The barge was then taken up to Baton Rouge, LA. The barge had numerous fractures and pinholes that could have been leaking gaseous hydrogen sulfide. The NOAA SST provided a report on the material inside the barge and addressed safety issues associated with the evolution of hydrogen sulfide from the sodium sulfide solution.