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REDWOOD CITY, CA – The 18-year-old man who fell in a vat of acidic solution in a Redwood City circuit board factory died of accidental drowning, the San Mateo County coroner said.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Fernando Jimenez Gonzalez drowned in a "low-concentration sulfuric acid solution," according to deputy coroner Michelle Rippy. Toxicology tests confirmed no drugs or alcohol were involved.
The solution was 93% water and 7% sulfuric acid, about the same as stomach acid, according to the coroner's office.
Gonzalez's father found his body in the middle of the night at Coastal Circuits, where they were both employed, on Sept. 23, police said.
Gonzalez was alone when the accident occurred, authorities said. Police suspect he fell into waist-high sulfuric acid after being overcome by chemical fumes, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
A spokesman for the company said the solution does not produce harmful fumes.
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the incident.
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