Hazardous materials shuts down eastbound Atlantic Avenue in Bed-Stuy

November 19, 2018 By Todd Maisel Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Firefighters had to remove this bucket containing an unknown green substance which officials say may have fallen from a truck on Atlantic Avenue.. Eagle photos by Todd Maisel

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A five-gallon bucket of an unknown substance, believed to have fallen off a truck, forced the shutdown of Atlantic Avenue from New York Avenue to Brooklyn Avenue as fire department specialists cleaned up the green mess in front of the Lynx Motel in Bed-Stuy Monday afternoon.

No injuries were reported. Employees of the motel said they spotted the bucket earlier in the day, but didn’t think much of it until it began to smoke.

“I saw it earlier and didn’t think it was anything until it started mixing with the water at the curb and it started to smoke,” said an employee who asked not to be identified.

One group of firefighters damned up the suspicious smoking fluid and hazardous materials as another, wearing masks and gloves, began testing the substance. After containing the fluid and soaking up the green goop, firefighters put the liquid into a container for further testing.

Officials say they believed the substance to be muriatic acid, a strong inorganic acid used in many industrial processes. Muriatic acid, also known by its chemical name, hydrochloric acid, is found in many commercial and household products. Officials say that, in pure form, it is highly dangerous to the public.

Meanwhile, traffic on Atlantic Avenue was backed up for miles due to rerouting of vehicles as the clean-up continued.