WEST BURLINGTON — Employees at the Borghi USA Inc. manufacturing plant in West Burlington were sent home Thursday after emergency crews responded to a report of a hydrochloric acid spill that was making some workers ill. 

Just before 9 a.m., the West Burlington Fire Department was sent to the building after receiving an anonymous tip, according to Fire Chief Shaun Ryan. 

A pipe at the factory broke late Tuesday, resulting in a large spill of hydrochloric acid, according to Ryan.   

Ryan said the plant's manager told crews 2000-4000 gallons of the acid is estimated to have leaked. 

Shortly after West Burlington fire crews arrived on the scene, and due to the potential for hydrochloric acid to be explosive, Ryan said he ordered the plant to shut down and send employees home at about 9:15 a.m.

"I basically told the whole plant they had to evacuate," Ryan said. "(Hydrochloric acid) does have the potential to be explosive if the right conditions exist."  

Ryan said the pipe that was the source of the spill no longer was leaking and but that the chemical was still present on the floor when crews arrived. 

Cleanup crews with Clean Harbors Environmental Services were at the facility on Thursday. Ryan said those cleanup crews had already been called to the site by Borghi officials prior to the fire department's arrival at the facility.  

The West Burlington Police Department and West Burlington Public Works Department also responded to the call at the facility on Thursday.  

The facility will be closed until Monday while cleanup crews work to remove the chemical residues, Ryan said.     

The company manufactures automotive, agricultural and industrial sector pipes. 

The West Burlington Fire Department did not provide medical treatment to any employees at the facility Thursday, but posts on social media suggest several workers went to the hospital due to exposure to the chemical. 

When initially asked about the spill, Borghi plant manager Francesco Cremonini told The Hawk Eye he was not sure where the leak started, what may have caused it or how bad it was. 

Cremonini also said he was not aware of any employees who had sought medical treatment due to the spill.

One employee who spoke to The Hawk Eye under condition of anonymity said employees were aware of the leak at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday and that they were told to keep working. The workers also said employees tasked with cleaning the spill were told to wear rubber boots while walking through the chemicals and that, due to the location of the spill, employees had to walk a different route to access the area of the building where they punch their time cards. 

The employee said they have not sought medical treatment, but that their nose and throat felt like they were burning after inhaling the chemical's fumes.  

Another employee who also did not want to be identified told The Hawk Eye they worked their full shift Wednesday and went straight from the facility to the hospital Thursday morning after experiencing symptoms that included chest pains, dizziness and a burning sensation in their nose.   

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They said hospital staff told them they were suffering from inhalation injuries and could experience symptoms for the next two days. 

The employee also said staff at the facility tried to clean up the spill using shop vacs and that employees were told to continue working.  

Ryan also said staff should not have been allowed to continue working in the facility after the spill occurred. 

"They should have called us right away," Ryan said. "We could have made the determination to evacuate people at that time."

When asked by The Hawk Eye a second time about the chemical spill, the plant's closure, and employee accounts of adverse health symptoms, Cremonini declined to comment, saying he was busy and could not answer questions before hanging up.   

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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, hydrochloric acid can be corrosive to the skin, eyes, nose, mucous membranes, and respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. 

Inhalation can cause pulmonary edema, a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs, and ingestion can cause severe injury to the mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach.  

Other effects of exposure include shock, circulatory collapse metabolic acidosis and respiratory depression.

The West Burlington Fire Department left the facility at about 11 a.m. 

Ryan said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident and that he has contacted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to look into the spill.  

Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated that clean-up crews were called to the facility after firefighters arrived. The crews had been called to the site for clean-up prior the fire department's arrival. This article has also been updated with additional information from the West Burlington Fire Department. 

Brad Vidmar covers public safety and education for The Hawk Eye and can be reached via email at bvidmar@gannett.com.