Toxic spill of chemical destined to fish farm

A 330ft exclusion zone was put in place in the village of Lochaber, and householders were ordered to stay indoors after a lorry shed a 220 gallon (1,000-litre) container of formic acid and nitric acid, destined for a fish farm, onto the A830 Fort William to Mallaig road at Corpach, the newspaper wrote.The incident led to traffic jams and the cancellation of trains, while there were fears that fumes given off by the chemicals could be poisonous.The road was closed for more than 10 hours while contractors carried out the painstaking job of decanting the chemicals into containers. The chemicals, which gave off nitrogen oxide and nitric oxide, were said to be “venting off fumes”.Nitrogen oxide can react with moisture in the atmosphere to create a vapour that can damage lung tissue and worsen conditions such as bronchitis and emphysema.And nitric oxide can cause severe burns and can be fatal if inhaled.Police officers were investigating the cause of the spillage, but a spokeswoman said the 40ft truck was not involved in a collision.