Acid Spill Forces Evacuation at FDIC

WASHINGTON - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials were evacuated from their suburban Washington training center Wednesday after fumes from a sulfuric acid spill entered the ventilation system.

No one was seriously injured in the Seidman Center accident. Medical personnel checked several people at the scene.

"There was no need for anyone to go the hospital," FDIC spokesman Alan Whitney said.

Examiners, who had just learned of the bombing at the Oklahoma City federal building, said that they feared terrorists also had attacked their facility.

But Mr. Whitney said the agency uses the toxic chemical to maintain a battery-powered backup system for its computers. The acid corroded the generator room's floor but caused no permanent damage in other parts of the Arlington, Va., facility, he said.

The evacuation came on the heels of an April 16 fire in the training center's student housing complex. An examiner, who was frying chicken, started a grease fire that ignited wooden cabinets in a room's kitchenette.

The blaze triggered the fire alarm system, forcing the evacuation of nearly 120 examiners from the complex. No one was injured, although the fire caused about $7,500 in damages.

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