Officials: No lasting effects expected from Friday's chemical spill on M-14
A thousand-gallon spill of a chemical called “Glo-Quench” on M-14 at Barton Drive in Ann Arbor Township after a truck carrying a shipping container full of the substance rolled over Friday morning has been contained and the full cleanup is expected to be done by Wednesday.
Ypsilanti Township Fire Marshal Vic Chevrette, who also heads the Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials team, said Monday the truck was carrying 18 plastic containers of the chemical, each containing 250 gallons. Four of those containers ruptured, spilling their contents onto the ground and causing the freeway to be closed much of Friday.
Chevrette said two dump trucks of sand were used to dike the area, but the chemical — which is considered a chronic aquatic hazard and is irritable to human eyes — never made it into any waterways or came near homes. Cleanup crews are now just waiting for the go-ahead from MISS DIG to remove the remaining affected dirt from the area, he said.
“All they have to do is clean up the dirt,” he said.
Gloquench, scientifically known as benzene dicarboxylic acid, is designated as a mild hazardous material with a pH of 3, said Chevrette. It’s used in the processing of textile, leather and paper processing, he said.
The remaining plastic containers were removed with the help of a specialized vacuum truck, which sucked up all the acid to safely transport it, Chevrette said. When full, each container weighed approximately 3,000 pounds, he said.
The trucking firm is expected to pay for the cleanup, Chevrette said.
The investigation into the accident continues, according to Michigan State Police Sgt. Mark Thompson. When reached by email Monday, Thompson said a motor carrier officer investigated the accident on scene and the investigating trooper is now waiting for the report. More information could be available Wednesday.
One person was injured in the accident, which occurred at 7:25 a.m. Friday, Chevrette said. The truck driver was taken by Huron Valley Ambulance to University of Michigan Hospital in stable condition. A worker from the tow truck company was exposed to the chemical on scene, but was decontaminated by hazmat crews and refused medical treatment, Chevrette said.
Once MISS DIG checks the area for underground wires and the proper permits are acquired from the Michigan Department of Transportation, the contaminated soil from the area will be dug out, Chevrette said.
The Washtenaw County hazmat team identified the substance, stabilized the scene and monitored the clean up of the area, Chevrette said. The toughest part of the day was dealing with the high temperatures that suffocated the area Friday afternoon — Chevrette said it reached 114 degrees on the pavement at one point.
He said keeping the Gloquench spill limited was well worth the effort.
“It never came near houses and never got into waterways or drains,” he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
SMC
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 2:18 p.m.
"the chemical — which is considered a chronic aquatic hazard and is irritable to human eyes" Irritable to human eyes, eh? ir·ri·ta·ble? ?[ir-i-tuh-buhl] adjective 1. easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger. 2. Physiology, Biology . displaying irritability. 3. Pathology . susceptible to physical irritation. 4. Medicine/Medical . abnormally sensitive to a stimulus. Try harder.
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 1:29 p.m.
I mistakenly reported the rollover has having occurred at 7:25 p.m. and not a.m. That's been changed.
Kai Petainen
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 12:18 p.m.
I was able to find the name of the suspected trucking company. Note -- according to the incident report, the Ann Arbor news is not considered a media agency.
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 1:26 p.m.
Kai- I imagine that the reason we're not listed in the media interest part of that report is that we got our information from local sources as opposed to the NRC. I'm not positive on that, but I can assure you that we actually are a media agency, despite what the NRC might report.
Edward Norman
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 12:39 a.m.
Should have let the wild coyote's lap the stuff up. Then we could watch where they go at night.....
Kai Petainen
Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 11:12 p.m.
It's good that the Ann Arbor news is keeping on top of this. Good job. Cause frankly... if the past is a reflection....I'm not sure if some of these agencies would care otherwise... You're just annoying their vacation time.
Jeff Renner
Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 10:12 p.m.
Why did the truck roll? Was the driver cited?
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 12:12 p.m.
As noted in the story, the investigation into the actual accident isn't completed yet. I'll be keeping on MSP about it and will print the results when they're available.
northside
Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 9:49 p.m.
And on a more serious note, why is the trucking firm and the company it was hauling Glo-Quench for not named? When there's wrongdoing in the public schools, this site does a down to the last dollar and cent analysis and gives names. In the private sector? It's just an anonymous trucking company, no name, no other info.
notnecessary
Tue, Jul 10, 2012 : 1:59 a.m.
I don't really think its a private sector vs. public sector thing here... 1) You've probably never heard of the company, and never will hear of them. It could have even been an independent owner operator -- there are 1000s of small trucking companies 2) In the public sector, you can vote and hold people accountable -- who are you going to hold accountable here? It seems to indicate they're paying for it and its not like you can boycott XYZ Trucking company or Glo-Quench because you have no idea who hauled what merchandise nor do you likely even know what Glo-Quench is or is used for...
Kai Petainen
Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 11:13 p.m.
The local news has a history of doing a poor job at following hazardous spills.
northside
Mon, Jul 9, 2012 : 9:45 p.m.
I love the smell of Glo-Quench in the morning!