San Mateo South County fire officials say an explosion reported at a Belmont business early yesterday was caused by a 55-gallon drum of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid that was being used for an environmental cleanup of contaminated soil.
Battalion Chief Richard Price said the explosion, reported shortly after noon Thursday at 509 O'Neill Ave. in Belmont, caused several nearby buildings to be evacuated but did not cause any injuries or major damage.
Price said the chemicals were being used by a company hired to neutralize soil contaminated with battery acid and other chemicals. The business at that location, Howard Jones Batteries, Inc., apparently stores and reconditions batteries on site and was undertaking an environmental cleanup, said Price.
Some fire crews remained on scene late in the afternoon to supervise a cleanup of the chemicals.<
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.