Spill Closes 35-Mile Link of Nevada I-80
An accident involving a truck hauling more than 28,000 pounds of hazardous materials forced the closure of a 35-mile stretch of Interstate 80 west of here Saturday afternoon.
A Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman said both lanes of I-80 would be closed while a team of California hazardous material specialists remove the chemicals from the scene.
The highway was closed at 1 p.m. Saturday, and highway patrol dispatcher Marcie Bailey said that, for unknown safety reasons, cleanup of the area was not scheduled to begin until 4:30 a.m. today and the highway probably would not be reopened for at least 16 hours after that.
Wayne Graham, the patrol’s investigating officer for the accident, said barrels containing ammonium fluoride and hydrofluoric acid solution were damaged when the truck drifted off the highway about 24 miles west of Lovelock at 9:45 p.m. Friday night.
Lovelock is located 96 miles east of Reno in northern Nevada.
Graham said the two chemicals are lethal if touched or breathed, and they will explode if mixed with water.
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