Caustic Query

national | environment | opinion/analysis Friday July 22, 2005 15:51 by Baywatch - Baywatchers United

Who do you trust?

A company in Cork has allowed over 250 tonnes of Caustic Soda to spill onto the foreshore of the harbour. Nobody thought the public needed to know.

“Caustic soda is a non-toxic material used in the making of soft drinks"

So says Dr Peter Cunningham in the official EPA Press Statement referring to the July 2nd ADM leak into Cork Harbour as published on the front page of the EPA website www.epa.ie Friday July 22nd.


Another view on Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide) comes from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment:

Extracts follow-

III. Major Uses and Sources
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is produced primarily by the electrolysis of sodium chloride solutions and also from sodium carbonate. Sodium hydroxide is used in the manufacture of chemicals, rayon, soap and detergents, pulp and paper, petroleum products, cellophane, textiles and explosives, in etching and electroplating, in metal descaling, and in batteries.

IV. Acute Toxicity to Humans
Sodium hydroxide is a strong irritant and has a marked corrosive action on all body tissues regardless of the route of exposure (Reprotext, 1993). It is also more irritating than equivalent amounts of strong acid.

Source: http://www.oehha.ca.gov/air/acute_rels/pdf/1310932A.pdf

Wonder which is correct?