Truck carrying chemical waste flips; no leaks

Emergency personnel stood by all Monday morning and most of the afternoon while a hazardous materials team transferred 6,000 gallons of chemical waste from an overturned truck to another tanker.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday a tank truck driven by Bobby Peters of Benton, Ark., overturned on its way to deliver the mixed chemical waste to Lone Star Industries, 2524 S. Sprigg St.

Pat Joyner, general manager of Sumter Transport of Sumter, S.C., said that Peters told him he took his eyes off the road momentarily, looked down and found his front tire had dropped off the right side of the road.

"Things got worse from there," Joyner said.

Peters lost control of the truck, which flipped and landed on the passenger side. Two other tanker trucks from Sumter were following behind Peters and were able to stop and call for help. Peters was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was admitted for observation.

The accident occurred near the cement plant just off the Dutchtown exit of Interstate 55.

According to Jackson Bostic of the Department of Natural Resources' environmental services program, the tanker was carrying a mixture of acetone, xyolene, toluene, perchloroethylene/ styrene monmer -- a recycled product that Lone Star burns in its incinerators for fuel.

Bostic said he was on hand to make sure none of the product spilled or leaked into the drinking water.

A representative from Sumter Transport arrived Monday morning to oversee the transfer of the chemicals from the downed truck to another tanker and to make sure there were no spills or leaks, Joyner said.

"Those tanks are very, very sturdy," Joyner said. "It takes quite a blow to break one open."

Environmental Restoration Corp. of St. Louis, a hazardous materials transfer company that Sumter hired, was on site by 3 a.m. Monday to pump the material into a waiting tanker.

Standing by in addition to the DNR were the Cape Girardeau County emergency operations team, Cape Girardeau Fire Department, the county health department, and the East Cape Girardeau County Fire Protection District with its water tanker.

The accident occurred in an area where there is no running water or hydrants, said Tom Hinkebein, battalion chief with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. The county fire district provided a tanker in case of a fire. He said emergency crews were concerned about lightning during Monday's effort.

Hinkebein said that the community was in no danger as a result of the accident. Tankers routinely deliver to Lone Star, he said, using a remote access road. They do not drive through the city limits with their loads.

Hinkebein added that local emergency responders routinely train for such emergencies and were prepared for this one.

"Every safety mechanism was in place," Bostic said. "Everybody did a good job getting everything buttoned up."

Joyner said that Peters has been a truck driver for 36 years, and will observe his first anniversary with Sumter on Wednesday.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160