MAKKAH, 6 May 2008 — The Road Safety Administration (RSA) and the Civil Defense in Makkah have come under severe criticism for failing to take quick action to avert a possible environmental disaster when a truck leaking highly hazardous acid broke down close to the holy city on Saturday.

“The truck, which was leaking concentrated sulfuric acid, remained on the expressway a little away from the entrance to the holy city for 22 hours. It was neglected by the RSA and the Civil Defense, which are the bodies responsible for dealing with such situations,” said Fahd Al-Turkistani, a chemical expert and environmental activist.

The truck, which broke down at about 10 p.m. on Saturday, was only noticed around 8 p.m. the next day by the RSA, which called the Civil Defense. It was then taken to a safe place away from the road and its load was transferred into another truck.

The Civil Defense also used alkaline substances to neutralize the leaked acid. This operation took about 16 hours, according to a spokesman for the Civil Defense.

The truck was taking the acid from a Dammam factory to a desalination plant in Jeddah. When it arrived in Jeddah, the plant refused to take delivery after a leak in the truck’s tank was discovered.

On its return to Dammam, the truck broke down and the acid began leaking on the road. It was then that the driver requested his company in Dammam to send another truck to take back the cargo.

“The truck’s owner should be held accountable for not taking necessary precautions. The desalination plant also deserves to be penalized for its irresponsible handling of the situation,” said Al-Turkistani. “The company should have informed the police of the situation and should not have permitted the driver to take the toxic cargo all the way back to Dammam in a leaking truck,” he added.

Al-Turkistani said he was surprised by the response of the Chemical Safety Wing at the Presidency for Metereology and Environment when he asked it to send a truck to transfer the acid.

“Some officials at the presidency asked me who would pay the cost of the truck, instead of sending emergency help,” said Al-Turkistani.

On the other hand, Lt. Col. Ali Al-Muntasheri, official spokesman for the Makkah Civil Defense, said his department responded quickly when the truck was discovered.

He said firefighters neutralized the leaked acid and moved the truck to a safe place before transferring its content to another truck, he said.