2,300-Gallon Spill—  

Waste-Oil Tanker Truck Rolls Over At Exit 11 Median

By Andrew Gorosko

A tanker truck carrying a load of used motor oil, while traveling on the Exit 11 off-ramp of Interstate 84, went off the ramp and rolled over several times, spilling about 2,300 gallons of oil onto a turf median divider about 4 pm Thursday, October 8.

The incident resulted in a major environmental cleanup of contaminated soil, which continued the following day. By the morning of October 9, cleanup crews from United Industrial Services of Meriden had excavated about 500 cubic yards of contaminated soil at the site.

On the morning of October 14, earthmoving equipment and three dumpsters full of tainted soil, plus a large pile of tarpaulin-covered contaminated soil, stood on the median.

State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesman Dennis Schain said this week the DEP is awaiting the full results of soil testing to determine where that contaminated soil should be transported for its disposal. Whether more soil would need to be removed from the median depends on those test results, he said. Site restoration would follow the end of soil excavation.

The truck accident had caused travel delays in the area during the evening rush on October 8.

State police said that trucker Noel T. Hann, 60, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was driving the 1991 Peterbilt tanker truck on the Exit 11 off-ramp, about 1,000 feet southeast of the ramp’s intersection with Wasserman Way, when for unknown reasons, Mr Hann failed to negotiate a sharp curve on the ramp to the right and ran off the left shoulder of the ramp, entering the grassy median, resulting in the vehicle rolling over several times.

The truck’s waste-oil tank separated from the truck and that tank then leaked about 2,300 gallons of oil; the truck’s diesel fuel tank leaked less than 10 gallons of fuel.

Mr Hann received multiple incapacitating injuries and was transported by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Danbury Hospital for treatment, state police said. Mr Hann was admitted as a patient and was released on October 12, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company members responded to the accident to control the oil spill.

Mr Schain said that prompt action by volunteer firefighters prevented the spilled dirty oil from finding its way into any stormwater catch basins. The volunteers “did a great job responding quickly and containing the spill,” he said. The spill was controlled swiftly and was kept on the interchange’s median, resulting in minimal environmental impact, he said.

Because the liquid that spilled was waste oil, if it had spread off the site, it would have adversely affected fish and wildlife, but would have posed a minimal threat to human health, Mr Schain said.

“It was a large spill. It could have caused an extensive impact. Quick response prevented it from getting into catch basins and local streams where it could have caused significant damage,” he said.

“Local firefighters were outstanding,” he said.

From time to time, the DEP investigates an oil spill of this size, Mr Schain said, adding that what occurred at Exit 11 is not a typical oil spill. Two members of the DEP’s spill unit emergency response team went to the incident to supervise the cleanup. A field inspector for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also went to the spill.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead said that on arriving, Sandy Hook firefighters found the truck’s waste-oil storage tank detached from the truck’s chassis. The oil tank was found upside down amid accident debris, he said. The waste-oil tanker truck is similar in configuration to the type of trucks that are used to deliver home heating fuel.

Piping attached to the heavily damaged vehicle was leaking oil when firefighters encountered the incident, Chief Halstead said.

Firefighters, who also are emergency medical technicians, assisted ambulance corps members in aiding the injured truck driver who was conscious, the fire chief said.

Firefighters dug several trenches in the ground to provide the freely flowing escaped waste oil with a place to collect and also from which it could retrieved, the fire chief said. They also blocked the entrance to a nearby storm water catch basin to prevent the oil from entering that structure and finding its way into streams.

Sandy Hook firefighters brought fire equipment to the scene, including their special-duty trailer which contains equipment used to contain fluid spills. Firefighters spent about two hours working at the accident scene.

“It’s the biggest spill we’ve had in a while,” Chief Halstead said.

The tanker truck was totally destroyed in the accident and was towed away. The vehicle is owned by Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc of Elgin, Ill.

Trucks such as the one involved in the rollover accident travel among automotive repair facilities collecting dirty used motor oil for recycling.

The tanker truck’s owner hired the cleanup company to remove contaminated soil from the accident site. The full cost of site cleanup would be covered by the tanker truck’s owner, Mr Schain said.

The area where the accident occurred has been the site of many accidents in the past. The off-ramp in that area both narrows and follows an especially sharp curve to the right as it approaches its intersection with Wasserman Way.

The accident remains under investigation, according to State Trooper Matthew Bell. State police enforcement information on the incident was not available.