Caustic Spills Slow Newport Traffic

A trash truck on its way to the Bonita Canyon dump sloshed a caustic fluid onto Newport Beach city streets in four places Thursday, forcing temporary lane closures that threatened to snarl afternoon traffic.

The anticipated backups did not materialize, however, because the city’s hazardous-waste team cleaned up the puddles and reopened lanes before peak traffic hit, Newport Beach Fire Department spokesman Ray Pendleton said.

The spills of chlorinated hydrocarbons around 2:30 p.m. caused no injuries, but they were startling because they created clouds of bluish smoke when they hit the asphalt, Pendleton said.

The truck, operated by Western Waste Management Co., was heading for the Bonita Canyon dump, Pendleton said.

Drake Muat, captain of the Newport Beach hazardous-materials emergency response team, said the exact identity of the spilled substance had yet to be determined but that chlorinated hydrocarbons are most commonly found in brake and transmission fluids. It is illegal to dump such substances at the Bonita Canyon dump, he said.

The chemical was spilled at the intersection of Ford Road and MacArthur Boulevard and at three places along Jamboree Road: at Backbay, Santa Barbara and Bonita Canyon drives, Pendleton said.

“It seemed like every time he turned or stopped and had to start again, it would leave a residue on the street,” Pendleton said.

Fire officials evacuated employees of the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce building at Jamboree and Santa Barbara for about 30 minutes, then let them return to their work when it was determined the chemical posed no danger, Pendleton said.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies found the truck at the dump after receiving a call about a trash truck on fire there, Pendleton said.

The truck was not on fire, but huge clouds of bluish smoke were rising from it because of the caustic liquid it was carrying, he said.

Fire and police investigators were trying to determine where the driver picked up the chemical. Fire officials said they do not believe the driver knew that he had caustic chemicals aboard.