Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 17, 1993 TAG: 9308170468
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. and MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
The combination of chemicals called Latekoll - a thickening agent that includes methanol, ammonia and isopropyl alcohol among its components - was contained in the tractor-trailer that was transporting the drum from New Jersey to Hollingsworth & Vose Co., a Floyd textile plant headquartered in East Walpole, Mass.
The Department of Emergency Services and the company say the environment and grounds surrounding the truck were not harmed.
"As far as industrial chemicals are concerned, this is a simple material," said Bruce Smith, the technical superintendent at Hollingsworth & Vose. "It is not a very hazardous material."
BASF Manufacturing, the New Jersey company that makes the chemical, hired Four Seasons, a Greensboro, N.C., company, to clean up the truck.
"Things are very much under control," said Janet Clements, a spokeswoman for the Department of Emergency Services.
The spill occurred approximately 10:30 a.m. According to a statement issued by Hollingsworth & Vose, a drum of the substance shifted in transit, spilling the material in the trailer.
The unidentified driver of the truck, owned by the Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., detected the spill when he smelled a strong odor upon opening the trailer to unload the product.
The driver "was completely surprised when he opened the truck," Smith said. "He has no idea how the material spilled."
The truck was moved away from the receiving dock and parked on a slight incline to ensure the chemical would not leak outside the truck. According to Smith, the spill was contained inside the trailer.
The initial cleanup was handled by a hazardous materials unit from Giles County, assisted by the Department of Emergency Services, the fire departments from Floyd County and Riner and the Floyd Rescue Squad.
Witnesses said the cleanup crews applied a drying agent to the spill, then shoveled the material into barrels, which were secured inside the trailer.
At approximately 6:45 p.m., the trailer was moved to the front of the building, where the environmental cleanup crew was expected to continue the decontamination process.
Smith did not know when the final cleanup would be completed, although he speculated it could be finished by late Monday.
"That's all in the hands of the environmental cleanup crew and the Virginia Department of Emergency Services," he said.
Smith said that his company will ask BASF and the trucking company to investigate the spill.
by CNB