《Chemicals spilled in U.S. 23 semi rollover not expected to harm the environment》：
The chemicals that spilled during a rollover crash on southbound U.S. 23 at eastbound M-14 Monday were a silicone cleaner and solvent and a chemical commonly used as a base fluid in personal care products.
A fire official also said the chemicals were contained in the semi trailer and not spilled on the roadway. Earlier information from officials indicated that the chemicals had been spilled on the road.
Michigan State Police officials said one chemical was a mix of hexamethyldisiloxane and octamethyltrisiloxane. Together, that mix makes up Dow Corning’s OS-2 silicone cleaner and solvent.
The other fluid that spilled was the Xiameter PMX-200 Silicone Fluid, officials said.
According to information from Dow Corning, the OS-2 silicone cleaner and solvent is volatile and has a short half-life, which means it doesn’t present a risk to water-based organisms. It can also be more than 90 percent removed during wastewater treatment, “with approximately equal amounts going to the atmosphere and the sludge.”
Information on whether the chemical is toxic to the soil wasn’t immediately available. The only information from Dow Corning stated the chemical’s volatility meant it was unlikely to be found in soil.
A Dow Corning representative didn’t have specific information about the product and directed questions to EQ, the company cleaning up the chemical spill.
The main risk from OS-2 silicone cleaner and solvent is its high flammability, according to Dow Corning.
PMX-200 Silicone Fluid is commonly found in antiperspirants, deodorants, hair sprays, cleansing creams, skin creams, lotions, bath oils, suntan products and nail polishes, according to Dow Corning.
According to Dow Corning’s website, experiments on the PMX-200 Silicone Fluid show sewage sludge containing the chemical “has no effect on soil micro-organisms, earthworms or subsequent crops grown in the soil.”
The chemical also shows low toxicity to aquatic organisms and is listed mainly as a fire risk.
The chemicals were spilled when a semi carrying 80 drums of the two different chemicals rolled over after being hit by another vehicle. Three drums of the chemicals spilled about half of their contents, said Vic Chevrette, head of the Washtenaw Hazardous Materials Response Team.
Chevrette estimated 120 to 130 gallons of flammable liquid leaked, along with about 200 gallons of diesel fuel.
Ann Arbor Township Fire Chief Brian Thurston said the chemicals were contained to the trailer, with the diesel fuel itself spilling onto the roadway.
The crash closed the freeway about 2:15 p.m. Monday. Thurston said a driver who didn’t know the area swerved from southbound U.S. 23 to the ramp to eastbound M-14 and collided with the semi truck.
The freeway needed to be closed because any car going by the area could have possibly sparked the liquid. Thurston said the fumes were contained to the highway area and no other areas needed to be evacuated, but the freeway needed to be closed for the safety of both the public and first responders.
The removal of the drums was a painstaking process.
“The way the truck was lying on its side, everything had to be done by hand to remove the drums,” Chevrette said.
Thurston said each drum weighed between 400 and 600 pounds. He said the process of removing the drums from the trailer and moving them to another semi began at 8 p.m. and finished about 1 a.m.
“They had to physically pull them, drag them, roll them, whatever to get them to an area (so that) they could get them … out of here,” Thurston said. “(They had to be) re-palleted and into another semi so they could be taken from the area.”
A forklift assisted cleanup crews in removing the drums, Chevrette said. By 1 a.m., the cleanup of the drums was finished and then tow crews had to remove the semi truck from the freeway as well.
Firefighters were on standby during the cleanup due to the potential fire hazard. The air around the crash was also being monitored to protect firefighters and other workers from potentially hazardous vapors in the air.
A statement was released just before 4 a.m. Tuesday announcing the freeway was back open.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said two people were evaluated at the scene of the crash but no one needed to be hospitalized.
Thurston said, in addition to Ann Arbor Township firefighters, firefighters responded from Superior Township, Northfield Township, Salem Township, Dexter Township, Ann Arbor, Scio Township and Green Oak Township came to the scene. The Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials Response Team was assisted by the Western Wayne County Hazardous Materials Response Team and the Livingston County Disaster Assessment Response Team.
The Michigan Department of Transportation, Washtenaw County Road Commission, Ann Arbor Township Utility Department, Brewers Towing Company, Sign and Signal Shop in Ann Arbor and the United States Environmental Protection Agency also responded, Thurston said.
The EPA is assisting EQ with the clean up of the site, along with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Thurston said.
Before crews left the scene last night, they had to mark where wires were laid before excavation of the soil could take place.
The freeway was scrubbed until it reopened just before 4 a.m. Thurston reminded drivers to take caution during the next rainfall, because the area will be slick from the diesel fuel spilled in the area.
Thurston lauded all the first responders who helped with the incident.
“We realistically had members from every department in the county there, based on them responding with the hazardous materials response team,” Thurston said. “We had people from everywhere and anywhere.”
Adding that many departments who weren’t there provided coverage for the departments that did respond, Thurston said, “It was a lot of very, very good cooperation of the different players assisting everybody.”
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached atkylefeldscher@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.
《Chemicals spilled in U.S. 23 semi rollover not expected to harm the environment》：
The chemicals that spilled during a rollover crash on southbound U.S. 23 at eastbound M-14 Monday were a silicone cleaner and solvent and a chemical commonly used as a base fluid in personal care products.
A fire official also said the chemicals were contained in the semi trailer and not spilled on the roadway. Earlier information from officials indicated that the chemicals had been spilled on the road.
Michigan State Police officials said one chemical was a mix of hexamethyldisiloxane and octamethyltrisiloxane. Together, that mix makes up Dow Corning’s OS-2 silicone cleaner and solvent.
The other fluid that spilled was the Xiameter PMX-200 Silicone Fluid, officials said.
According to information from Dow Corning, the OS-2 silicone cleaner and solvent is volatile and has a short half-life, which means it doesn’t present a risk to water-based organisms. It can also be more than 90 percent removed during wastewater treatment, “with approximately equal amounts going to the atmosphere and the sludge.”
Information on whether the chemical is toxic to the soil wasn’t immediately available. The only information from Dow Corning stated the chemical’s volatility meant it was unlikely to be found in soil.
A Dow Corning representative didn’t have specific information about the product and directed questions to EQ, the company cleaning up the chemical spill.
The main risk from OS-2 silicone cleaner and solvent is its high flammability, according to Dow Corning.
PMX-200 Silicone Fluid is commonly found in antiperspirants, deodorants, hair sprays, cleansing creams, skin creams, lotions, bath oils, suntan products and nail polishes, according to Dow Corning.
According to Dow Corning’s website, experiments on the PMX-200 Silicone Fluid show sewage sludge containing the chemical “has no effect on soil micro-organisms, earthworms or subsequent crops grown in the soil.”
The chemical also shows low toxicity to aquatic organisms and is listed mainly as a fire risk.
The chemicals were spilled when a semi carrying 80 drums of the two different chemicals rolled over after being hit by another vehicle. Three drums of the chemicals spilled about half of their contents, said Vic Chevrette, head of the Washtenaw Hazardous Materials Response Team.
Chevrette estimated 120 to 130 gallons of flammable liquid leaked, along with about 200 gallons of diesel fuel.
Ann Arbor Township Fire Chief Brian Thurston said the chemicals were contained to the trailer, with the diesel fuel itself spilling onto the roadway.
The crash closed the freeway about 2:15 p.m. Monday. Thurston said a driver who didn’t know the area swerved from southbound U.S. 23 to the ramp to eastbound M-14 and collided with the semi truck.
The freeway needed to be closed because any car going by the area could have possibly sparked the liquid. Thurston said the fumes were contained to the highway area and no other areas needed to be evacuated, but the freeway needed to be closed for the safety of both the public and first responders.
The removal of the drums was a painstaking process.
“The way the truck was lying on its side, everything had to be done by hand to remove the drums,” Chevrette said.
Thurston said each drum weighed between 400 and 600 pounds. He said the process of removing the drums from the trailer and moving them to another semi began at 8 p.m. and finished about 1 a.m.
“They had to physically pull them, drag them, roll them, whatever to get them to an area (so that) they could get them … out of here,” Thurston said. “(They had to be) re-palleted and into another semi so they could be taken from the area.”
A forklift assisted cleanup crews in removing the drums, Chevrette said. By 1 a.m., the cleanup of the drums was finished and then tow crews had to remove the semi truck from the freeway as well.
Firefighters were on standby during the cleanup due to the potential fire hazard. The air around the crash was also being monitored to protect firefighters and other workers from potentially hazardous vapors in the air.
A statement was released just before 4 a.m. Tuesday announcing the freeway was back open.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said two people were evaluated at the scene of the crash but no one needed to be hospitalized.
Thurston said, in addition to Ann Arbor Township firefighters, firefighters responded from Superior Township, Northfield Township, Salem Township, Dexter Township, Ann Arbor, Scio Township and Green Oak Township came to the scene. The Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials Response Team was assisted by the Western Wayne County Hazardous Materials Response Team and the Livingston County Disaster Assessment Response Team.
The Michigan Department of Transportation, Washtenaw County Road Commission, Ann Arbor Township Utility Department, Brewers Towing Company, Sign and Signal Shop in Ann Arbor and the United States Environmental Protection Agency also responded, Thurston said.
The EPA is assisting EQ with the clean up of the site, along with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Thurston said.
Before crews left the scene last night, they had to mark where wires were laid before excavation of the soil could take place.
The freeway was scrubbed until it reopened just before 4 a.m. Thurston reminded drivers to take caution during the next rainfall, because the area will be slick from the diesel fuel spilled in the area.
Thurston lauded all the first responders who helped with the incident.
“We realistically had members from every department in the county there, based on them responding with the hazardous materials response team,” Thurston said. “We had people from everywhere and anywhere.”
Adding that many departments who weren’t there provided coverage for the departments that did respond, Thurston said, “It was a lot of very, very good cooperation of the different players assisting everybody.”
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached atkylefeldscher@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.