The State - News from March 3, 1987

Nitric acid leaking from a chemical tank near a United Airlines maintenance building at San Francisco International Airport created a toxic vapor cloud that drifted near U.S. 101 before dissipating. One airport employee was treated for inhaling fumes that briefly “knocked him for a loop,” but there were no serious injuries, airport spokesman Ron Wilson said. Emergency crews doused the vapor cloud with water and brought it under control. Wilson blamed the spill on a valve that blew due to excess pressure in the tank, which was dragged to a remote area of the field.