Part one
On 13 September, a steel barrel with unknown contents was found buried near the sports field on Sportowa Street in Bolesławiec. The Command Post of the District Commander in Bolesławiec received this information from the duty officer of the District Police Headquarters in Bolesławiec. Upon arrival at the scene, it was established that a police patrol was securing the area. The facility manager—a representative of the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre—was also present. During the inspection, it was determined that the barrel, with a capacity of approximately 120 litres, had been partially dug up. The filler cap was visible. The barrel was heavily corroded but appeared to be sealed. Measurements were taken using the available equipment. No hazardous compounds were detected. The facility manager, on whose premises the barrel had been found, was advised to hand it over for disposal. The operation involving two State Fire Service units lasted 50 minutes. The Municipal Crisis Management Team in Bolesławiec and the Voivodeship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection were notified of the incident.
Part two
On 16 September at 12:25 p.m., a representative of the Municipal Crisis Management Team in Bolesławiec asked the Command Post of the District Commander in Bolesławiec to check what substance might be escaping from the barrel handed over for disposal. A facility in Krzyżowa undertook to dispose of it. A unit equipped with measuring instruments—seven different devices—was dispatched there. Upon arrival at the scene, it was established that the barrel found at the sports facility in Bolesławiec on 13 September had been delivered to the facility. Since the disposal workers found that there was some liquid inside the barrel, and the only way to check its contents was to unscrew the cap, they attempted to do so.
After the barrel seal was broken, gas began escaping from beneath the cap: a small amount of white vapour. The workers informed the client commissioning the disposal of the danger, and the client notified the fire service. The barrel stood on a pallet in an open, well-ventilated area within the secured facility. The incident commander ordered a protective zone to be established within a radius of 50 metres of the barrel. The facility workers left the zone before the fire service arrived. Wearing respiratory protection equipment and carrying measuring devices, the rescuers took measurements.
The available equipment could not identify the substance escaping from the barrel. A measurement unit from the Wrocław-3 Specialist Chemical and Ecological Rescue Group was dispatched. Following the measurements and analysis, it was considered highly likely that the barrel might contain white phosphorus; indicator paper showed a strongly acidic pH. The equipment available at the scene did not allow for a more precise identification of the hazardous substance. It was decided to enlarge the danger zone—two people were evacuated from staff accommodation on the facility premises—and the cap was sealed with sealing paste.
After the barrel had been sealed, a facility representative said that there was no possibility of disposing of the substance. The Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre in Bolesławiec decided to commission another company to dispose of it. Until it was established who would dispose of the hazardous material, two units from the Bolesławiec Rescue and Firefighting Unit and the Volunteer Fire Service in Krzyżowa guarded the scene. It was not until Saturday morning that a company willing to transport the barrel for disposal was found. At approximately 5:00 p.m., after the sealed barrel had been placed in an additional tank filled with water and loaded onto a delivery vehicle, the vehicle left the facility in Krzyżowa.
Part three
On 17 September at 6:31 p.m., the Command Post of the District Commander in Bolesławiec received information that the barrel being transported had probably sprung a leak and thick white smoke was escaping from beneath the tarpaulin covering the cargo bed. The vehicle stopped in a car park near an inn in Kruszyn.
Because the duty officer was aware of the danger that could result from the barrel losing its seal, in addition to two units from the Bolesławiec Rescue and Firefighting Unit, he immediately dispatched the Legnica-2 Specialist Chemical and Ecological Rescue Group. The first units arrived at the scene five minutes later.
The smoke severely restricted visibility on national road No. 94. The services knew that the barrel probably contained phosphorus; there was a real danger that it could ignite violently. An evacuation was ordered.
Approximately 100 people staying at the inn—guests attending a family celebration and company employees—as well as 38 people from 12 houses within the zone were evacuated. One evacuee, whose evacuation was due to a health condition unrelated to the incident, was taken to the Emergency Department of the Bolesławiec Hospital.
Police officers assisted with the evacuation, secured the operation site and stopped traffic on roads from four directions. In a later phase of the operation, they organised detours together with the road manager. Some evacuees were transported in an operational vehicle to the District Police Headquarters. Rooms at the Primary School in Kruszyn were also made available to the evacuees—none of them used this option.
At 8:24 p.m., after analysing the substance, the commander of the chemical group reported that there was no phosphorus in the barrel and that it might contain contaminated sulphuric acid. A large quantity of lime—approximately one tonne—was needed to neutralise the acid. It was decided to move the vehicle with the damaged barrel outside the built-up area, where the acid was to be neutralised with lime.
After 1:00 a.m., residents were allowed to return home. The owner of the company transporting the barrel undertook to provide another vehicle adapted for transporting it. The neutralisation reaction taking place in the tank was monitored with a pyrometer. During the first phase of the operation, rescuers from the Bolesławiec Rescue and Firefighting Unit found that the tank temperature exceeded 100°C. After the lime had been added, it was approximately 60 degrees. At around 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, the barrel temperature was still above 40°C.
During the loading of the tank onto the replacement vehicle, at approximately 4:45 p.m., the tank temperature was 26 degrees. The container placed on the vehicle was additionally covered with sand. The neutralisation reaction had been completed. The area around the tank was not contaminated.
An even more detailed account of the operation involving the neutralisation of the barrel containing industrial acid in Kruszyn near Bolesławiec can be found on the website of the District Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bolesławiec. Well done to our services!
Junior brigadier Piotr Pilarczyk, spokesperson for the District Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Bolesławiec/ii