Stainless steel tanks for storage of nitric acid at ICI in Billingham. 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Stainless steel tanks for storage of nitric acid at ICI in Billingham.
Aged 19 I was an apprentice on the Nitric Acid Plant from July 1957 until January 1958. Two things spring to mind reminding me of my time there. First,the fact that I was allowed to take part in the Bonus System. Apprentices were not normally allowed to carry out routine maintenance on their own so my inclusion in the Bonus Scheme was a rare opportunity to earn some very welcome extra cash. My second memory is of being involved in a prank that went wrong and left my legs drenched in Nitric Acid. Unable to believe what had taken place I was slow to react but was lifted off my feet by the adult fitters and unceremoniously dumped into a wooden barrel full of water to neutralize the acid. These barrels were located all around the Nitric Acid Plant for such occasions. Fortunately I suffered no ill-effects from my “acid test” although my overalls disintregated before my very eyes. This happened in winter and I can vouch that the water was cold.