By NATASHA HARRIS
Nearly 140 tonnes of molten glass spilled out of a tank at a Penrose glass factory, in one of Auckland's biggest industrial spills for five years.
Two small holes in a 200-tonne tank of molten glass caused the glass to spill out "like lava from a volcano" just after 11am yesterday.
About 70 firefighters fought the 1400C spill at ACI Glass Packaging by spraying the holes - near the bottom of the tank - until the glass solidified and covered the holes about 3pm.
Firefighters contained most of the spill to a concrete tank underneath the leaking tank. No other machinery was damaged.
A small fire on the steel structure, pipework and electrical cables underneath the tank, was quickly put out. Nobody was injured.
Incident controller Chief Fire Officer Bill Ellis said the biggest problem was stopping the flow of the liquid and coping with the heat.
"It was flowing out like lava flowing out of a volcano, it was almost white hot."
Piles of solidified glass from the spill were about 3m thick, Mr Ellis said, and would have to be broken up by jackhammers.
Management at the Great South Rd glass plant declined to talk last night, saying it was not a big spill.
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