This article originally provided by The Charleston Gazette

May 12, 2007

Chemical spill closes part of I-77 on Friday

By Dave Gustafson
Staff writer

Interstate 77 was reopened just north of Charleston late Friday afternoon, after a chemical spill closed the highway for much of the day Friday.

The interstate was shut down in both directions in the Sissonville area after a pickup truck hauling a corrosive liquid chemical rolled over this morning and spilled some of its load just south of the Tuppers Creek exit, emergency officials said.

The truck wrecked at about 5:30 a.m., rolling over in the median, said Dave Armstrong, deputy director of the Kanawha County Office of Emergency Services. Armstrong didn’t know what caused the driver to wreck.

The truck was carrying about 350 gallons of the corrosive chemical hydroxyethylidene in two containers headed for a coal mine in Wharton, he said. One 175-gallon container stayed on the truck, but another tumbled into the median and leaked most of its contents.

Hydroxyethylidene is also known as diphosphonic acid and HEDP. It is a corrosive material that is very acidic. It is an odorless liquid that is clear or pale-colored. Exposure can cause respiratory tract burns, mucous membrane burns, skin irritation and eye irritation.

The chemical is often used as a scaling or cleaning agent. In the mining industry, it can also be used in coal preparation plants and in some types of water pollution treatment.

A state Department of Environmental Protection emergency response crew took away the two containers of the syrup-like acid, said DEP spokeswoman Jessica Greathouse. A DEP environmental inspector oversaw the rest of the cleanup, she said. Most of the chemical was in the median, but a small amount of it got on the shoulder.

The 2003 Ford pickup truck is registered to National Colloid Company of Steubenville, Ohio, said Lt. S.C. Crosier of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department.

The driver, Tim Julio, 36, of Follansbee was decontaminated at the scene, then transported to CAMC General Hospital with minor injuries and treated for chemical exposure, officials said. He was listed as being under evaluation at 5:30 p.m., a hospital operator said.

Two people who were driving to work got some of the chemical on them when they stopped to help Julio, Armstrong said. They were also decontaminated at the scene and taken to a hospital.

Two deputies were also evaluated for exposure to the chemical, Crosier said. Everyone who was exposed to the chemical appears to be in good condition, he said.

For several hours, northbound traffic had to get off at the Edens Fork exit. Southbound traffic was directed to the Tuppers Creek exit. Traffic in both directions was diverted to W.Va. 21.

At about 2:30 p.m. one lane in both directions reopened. I-77 was fully reopened at about 5 p.m., a Metro 911 dispatcher said.

The wreck is still under investigation.

Staff writers Ken Ward Jr. and Gary A. Harki contributed to this report. To contact staff writer Dave Gustafson, use e-mail or call 348-5113.