EL PASO, Texas --
Around 500 gallons of a hazardous chemical spilled inside an upper valley business, forcing fire units to evacuate dozens of employees early Monday morning.
Patrick Tapia, general manager of Arrow Electronics, and his employees were among the two dozen people evacuated after a hydrochloric acid spill in a neighboring business.
"I've let our corporate office know that we are shut down. As of right now, the potential for us to shut down the rest of the day is pretty high, said Tapia.
More than 50 El Paso firefighters and a Hazmat team suited up as they handled the spill at Chem Station on the 4700 block of Ripley Drive in the upper valley.
"Approximately 500 gallons of a hydrochloric base was spilled on the ground, said Lt. Mario Hernandez with the El Paso Fire Dept.
The warehouse manufactures the hydrochloric acid to clean cement trucks.
"Some of it has gone down the drain, that's one of our concerns that it actually went down the drain, added Hernandez. They had an emergency shut off." Hernandez said two employees who came in contact with the hazardous material suffered from nausea and headaches, both were decontaminated after being treated at the scene.
The chemical spill left Tapia's business out of commission for several hours.
"You just never know, it does affect it but you just have to bounce back the next day, Tapia said.
Hazmat crews attempted to neutralize the acid that went down the drain with baking soda.
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