Tanker overturns near Buzzi Unicem cement plant

A tanker truck carrying about 44,700 pounds of mixed waste fuel overturned Monday morning on Capital Sand Road near the Buzzi Unicem cement plant in Cape Girardeau, according to Cape Girardeau Fire Department battalion chief Randy Morris Jr.

Cape Girardeau fire chief Travis Hollis stated the time of the call was at 6:59 a.m., and Morris said one passenger was injured in the accident.

According to Morris, the accident occurred after the driver encountered construction work preventing access to the plant’s north entrance on South Sprigg Street. As the driver attempted to turn around, the vehicle’s right-side dual tires traveled off the roadway and caused the vehicle’s cab and its attached tanker unit to overturn.

A line from Cape Girardeau Engine No. 1 lies near an overturned tanker truck carrying about 44,770 pounds of mixed waste as firefighters from multiple agencies work to clear the roadway Monday near Buzzi Unicem cement plant in Cape Girardeau.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

Local fire agencies from Cape Girardeau and Jackson responded to the incident along with the local hazardous materials team, and a mobile command post was set up a few hundred feet from the overturned truck.

Emergency crews closed a section of South Sprigg Street near the plant for more than six hours as they worked to handle the hazardous situation and clear the roadway. Morris said a nearby railway was also closed to prevent the highly flammable substances from igniting during the containment efforts.

The mixed waste materials inside the overturned tanker are used as fuel at the plant.

“It wasn’t an immediate danger to anyone because we didn’t have product leaking out of that tank,” Morris said of the mixed waste fuel materials inside the tanker. “And that’s very fortunate. If this would’ve been someone traveling a little bit faster speed, that might not have been the case.”

The most hazardous aspect of the situation, according to Morris, came from the flammability of the materials inside the tanker.

Static electricity was dissipated by the hazardous materials team to ensure the flammable materials were not ignited during the operation, and foam was used to help contain the accident. A vacuum was used to drain a portion of the mixed waste from the tanker before the tanker was separated from the cab, and both were set upright by Midwest Truck Inc. wrecking crews, according to Morris.

The damaged cab was towed from the scene, according to Morris, and the partially drained tanker was towed to the alternative fuels area at Buzzi Unicem.