A small amount of sulfuric add that leaked from a tank at the former Avtex Fibers plant in Front Royal was neutralized without incident, officials say.

Donald C. Denier, Warren County's emergency services coordinator, said Monday that between 15 and 20 gallons of a 97 percent solution of sulfuric acid leaked from the 5,000 gallon tank in the "Acid Alley" area of the rayon plant.

He said the leak was caused by corrosion in the tank and was noticed Monday morning by an Environmental Protection Agency contractor.

Derner said the workers applied soda to the acid to neutralize it.

He said workers punched a hole in the tank to measure the atmosphere inside it. It was below the dangerous level, so they lowered a pump into the tank to empty it. There was about eight inches of acid left in the bottom.

Workers also built a berm around the tank so the material couldn't travel.

EPA spokesman David P. Sternberg said acid that leaked was pumped into a fiberglass tank.

Acid Alley is along the acid reclaim section of the plant; which was one of the most corroded parts of the plant, officials say.

Sulfuric acid can burn the skin and irritate the lining of the nose, the windpipe and the lungs. It reacts violently with water.

Large quantities of sulfuric acid, necessary for the rayon manufacturing process, coursed through miles of pipes and valves and valves at the plant.

Sternberg said the process of pumping the tank dry was completed about 4 p.m.

The leak was the second at the site in about six months. In late May, more than 20,000 gallons of waste oil leaked from a tank. The oil was pumped from a berm around the tank and contaminated soil was taken to a landfill, EPA officials said.