Abbott Labs employee hospitalized with acid burns

An Abbott Laboratory employee is in the burn ward at Loyola Medical Center in Chicago after being doused with acid when a pipe burst early Saturday morning.

North Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Keith Humphres said the pipe containing sulfuric acid burst at 1:47 a.m. at the lab at 1401 Sheridan Road.

The name of the victim was withheld by the department.

Humphres said the acid was at 75 percent to 100 percent strength.

He said the employee was below the pipe when it burst. He was removed from the area and the acid release was contained.

"The fire department hazardous materials response team and Abbott's emergency teams worked to make sure the acid was stopped and no further life or property was at risk," he said. "Other than the one male, no one else was injured."

The cause of the broken pipe is under investigation.

Humphres said the leak was decontaminated with a flushing compound that neutralizes chemicals.