Hazardous spill shuts down I-40

Hazardous spill shuts down I-40

Overturned truck creates potentially dangerous situation

news@theeveningtimes.com

Crittenden County residents awoke to the news of big traffic snarls as a semitruck overturned wrecking near Lehi. As the West Memphis Fire Department responded to the westbound Interstate 40 scene and dressed out in protective suits to assess the site, traffic began backing up on the Interstates and spilled over onto Highway 70 in West Memphis, Highway 77 and 64 in Marion. Both Broadway and Military Road jammed up with 18 wheelers and stayed backed up until the lunch hour.

The WMFD responded to the call of a tractor-trailer accident with possible hazardous materials involved at 6:15 a.m. the initial responders established hazardous material procedures with the possibility of Sodium Cyanide involved in the crash between mile markers 272 and 271 Westbound.

Firefighters suited up in yellow and orange chemical suits and marched toward the rig laying with drivers side down. The nose of the truck crossed the lane line of the two lane westbound highway. While the team reconnoitered the accident to see if the poison containers had been compromised traffic in both directions was shut down.

Law enforcement agencies tried directing traffic toward an alternative route along Highway 70.

According to West Memphis Fire Department Marshal DeWayne Rose, responders found no spill, the shipping containers maintained integrity in the crash.

“The shipping crates were like heavy duty totes and they stayed intact,” said Rose.

Sodium cyanide is a white solid material that works as a highly toxic chemical asphyxiant gas when mixed in water. But the crates stayed shut and it was a clear blue day with no precipitation

to trigger any potential

chemical reaction.

Local fire departments are aware of the heavy truck traffic though the Intestate interchange of I-55 and an I-40 and the potential for accidents. Rose touted all the local fire departments readiness for the top flight hazmat response and said the WMFD handled the scene Tuesday morning well.

“There could not have been a more skilled response,”

said Rose. “Everyone

on the department is

certified in hazardous material

procedures. “The intersection of I-40 and I-55 are a recipe for disaster. All the fire departments in the area are well trained because of the risk.” Hazmat training is recurring, each responder gets 24 hours a year with a complete refresher every five years.

By the noon hour the WMFD finished at the scene. Private environmental contractor continued working the site remediating the material, and reloading it for shipment.

Westbound I-40 remained closed Tuesday afternoon due to the cleanup efforts and authorities expected the lanes to open by early evening.

The truck driver was sent to Regional One Medical Center by ambulance with minor injuries and the cause of the accident was under investigation by Arkansas State Police, still on scene at press time.

By John Rech