MAY 1, 2015
CLARKSBURG, WV
A chemical spill near Sun Valley closed down both eastbound
lanes of U.S. 50 for almost two hours Friday, but the incident turned out to be
less serious than initially thought, officials said.
According to Harrison 911 logs, the spill was reported just
before 3 p.m. Friday and occurred near mile marker 72.
Initial reports indicated that 200 gallons of Norkool
Desitherm — a substance used to dehydrate natural gas — had spilled in the
vicinity, Harrison-Taylor 911 Director Paul Bump said.
But after investigating the scene first-hand, Bump said the
amount of the substance that had spilled was "absolutely" less than
200 gallons.
"The quantity is unknown," Bump said.
"There's no evidence of product on the ground, so the quantity is going to
be smaller than (200 gallons)."
Early reports indicated that the substance spilled out of
the top of a tanker truck operated by Venezia Hauling that was turning into
Matthews Lubricants just off of U.S. 50, Bump said.
"The report is when he turned in the facility some
failure of a hatch on the top allowed it to slosh out," Bump said.
Bump did not know who first reported the incident to
emergency officials. He confirmed that it was not the driver of the tanker or
an employee at the facility, "but it was somebody who knew what the stuff
was called."
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was
also notified of the incident Friday. DEP spokeswoman Kelley Gillenwater said
officials with Ryan Environmental were called in by the companies involved
Friday to handle any cleanup efforts.
But Bump said there was no evidence of anything pooled up in
the area.
The initial report had four local fire departments and
Harrison EMS on the scene, Bump said. The potential hazard led officials to
close off both eastbound lanes of U.S. 50, he said.
"The fire department did what is prudent. They isolated
the area, tried to determine what it was," Bump said, adding that
officials "approached carefully with protective gear" before
determining "there was no significant hazard."
Officials were eventually able to open up the left lane to
traffic, Bump said. Environmental crews were still on scene investigating late
Friday afternoon, he said.
Reynoldsville, Salem, Nutter Fort and Stonewood volunteer
fire departments all responded, Bump said.
According to the material safety data sheet for Norkool
Desitherm, the substance is made up primarily of triethylene glycol and is
defined as a "hazardous chemical" by the Occupational Health and
Safety Administration's Hazard Communication Standard. However, the triethylene glycol is not
regulated by the DOT.
Source: http://www.theet.com