Posted on Fri, Jan. 28, 2005
Chemical spill shuts I-80
From staff and wire reports
DUBOIS -- A tractor-trailer carrying a hazardous material overturned Thursday night, prompting the evacuation of as many as 150 people from a nearby hotel and the closing of both lanes of a section of Interstate 80.
Authorities said they did not have much information about the spill near an exit of I-80 near Old Grade Road in Sandy Township, Clearfield County. It was unclear Thursday how long the section of I-80 would be closed.
Officials with the DuBois Fire Department said people from the hotel, about a half-mile from the wreck, were being evacuated and taken to a shelter as a precaution.
Initial reports from the scene said the chemical spilled from the truck was silicone tetrachloride.
The chemical is a colorless, fuming liquid with a suffocating odor. It becomes hydrochloric acid when it comes into contact with moist surfaces, such as mucous membranes of the nose and throat.
Stretch of I-80 remains closed
DUBOIS -- A 15-mile stretch of Interstate 80 in Sandy Township, Clearfield County, remains closed in both directions this morning following the crash of a tractor-trailer carrying hazardous material Thursday night.
Few details were available early Friday morning. State Police at DuBois said traffic was being detoured from the interstate and a Haz-Mat team had arrived at the scene.
The overturning of the tractor-trailer near Old Grade Road about 9:30 Thursday night prompted the evacuation of as many as 150 people from a nearby hotel and those within about a half-mile of the wreck as a precaution.
Sandy Township Fire Chief Bill Beers said at 9 a.m. that he was awaiting information from the Haz-Mat team to determine how much longer the interstate would remain closed.