HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A chemical spill closed about a mile-long portion of Tidwell in northeast Houston for hours on Thursday.

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The eastbound lanes of Tidwell Rd. between the Eastex Freeway and Lockwood were shut down due to a chemical spill.

According to the Houston Fire Department, it appeared to be some type of used oil product from a tanker truck. HFD responded to the report of a chemical spill in the 4100 block of Tidwell about 2:20pm Thursday.

MUSCATINE — A Sweetland Ag Tech truck on its way to apply fertilizer sprang a leak Tuesday.

The Muscatine Fire Department’s hazardous materials team was called to a spill on Iowa 22, off of Sweetland Road, around 9:30 a.m.

According to Ryan Stouder, an environmental specialist for the Department of Natural Resources, as the truck was traveling, 96 gallons of liquid fertilizer from its 1,400-gallon tank began leaking at the city limits and continued for about 21/2 miles.

Stouder said a Muscatine County Sheriff’s deputy pulled the driver of a “fertilizer applicator vehicle” over to notify him he was leaking fertilizer on the road.

A nine-mile stretch of the interstate in northern Gwinnett,  Barrow and Jackson counties was shut down in both directions around 3:40 a.m. Tuesday after the tractor-trailer, which officials said was hauling possibly hazardous chemicals, caught fire near Ga. 211.

Braselton police Assistant Chief Lou Solis said the right rear brakes on the Old Dominion Freight Lines truck caught fire around 3:30 a.m., and the fire spread into the trailer.

“He had twin trailers, and in the rear trailer, he was transporting hazardous liquids,” Solis told the AJC.

When Barrow fire crews arrived and saw placards on the truck indicating that it was hauling corrosives, “they looked it up on their emergency response books and it said you need hazmat suit,” Solis said. ”Barrow County doesn’t have hazmat suits, so they called Gwinnett fire out here.”

Gwinnett fire crews suited up and doused the fire, Solis said, but not before some 200 to 300 gallons of the hazardous liquid spilled from the trailer.

Solis said shortly after 7 a.m. that officials were waiting on a private hazmat cleanup crew to arrive “and determine what can be moved and what cannot be moved.”

DRACUT — More than 50 employees were evacuated from Con-way Freight yesterday morning after employees smelled a chemical odor in a trailer that just arrived at the facility, police and fire officials said.

Three Con-way employees were taken to Saints Medical Center in Lowell for evaluation and possible decontamination as a precaution, said Dracut police Sgt. Gregg Byam. Fire officials said they were released yesterday afternoon and returned to work.

The Con-way Freight building at 22 McGrath Road, at the Methuen line, was evacuated while the state hazmat team investigated a chemical smell released from several boxes in one of the trailers outside the main building, Dracut police said.

Deputy Fire Chief Mike Ralls of Dracut said that there were two chemicals in three boxes that were of concern because they are very hazardous. One was phenyl mercaptan, a chemical described by the Centers for Disease Control as a clear, water-like substance that has a strong, garlic-like odor. It is used in pesticides and to give odor to natural gas, among other uses.

The other was chromium trioxde, a red solid that is used in chrome plating.

Hazmat checked the air of the trailer, which had arrived from New York at about 9:30 a.m., and when they found nothing they went inside and observed a powder on the floor next to the boxes.

After analyzing the powder, the determined it was fumaric acid, a nontoxic substance.

"It's not even a hazardous material," Ralls said.

Two workers were injured and at least three vehicles were gutted in a major fire that broke out at Chandigarh distilleries and bottling plant in Banur on Monday. Fire tenders from Mohali, Rajpura, Dera Bassi, Mandi Gobindgarh and Chandigarh took nearly three hours to control the blaze.

The fire started with a blast while spirit was being siphoned into a tanker on the factory premises at around 3.15pm. Within seconds, the fire engulfed two other tankers and a truck holding liquor. The blaze also engulfed an office in the nearby building and a chemical lab.

Sources said around 150 workers were on duty at the time of the incident, who got frightened and some even jumped from the first floor of the building to save their lives.

Reports said supervisor Karamchand of Shakti Nagar in Dera Bassi, who was standing on the tanker to supervise siphoning of spirit, suffered severe burns. A worker Golu fractured his leg as he jumped from the first floor.

Residents who are on a private water system on Trout Lake are warned not to drink the water after a tanker truck overturned in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 63 north of Silver Lady Lane.

The crash at about 8:30 a.m. caused fuel and a load of formaldehyde the truck was carrying to spill directly into the lake.

The North Bay and District Public Health Unit released a statement saying the municipal drinking water supply is not in danger.

Anyone using a private water system must find another water source until further notice. The public is advised not to swim in Trout Lake or use the water for pets or livestocks.

WINDER, Ga. — A crash and fire involving a tractor-trailer -- and fears of a toxic chemical release -- shut down both lanes of a nine-mile stretch of Interstate 85 northeast of Atlanta for a time.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the truck caught fire early Tuesday morning near Georgia Highway 211, and authorities were concerned about possibly hazardous chemicals on the truck.

Barrow fire Lt. Scott Dakin tells WSB-TV that a rear tire on the truck caught fire, and the fire spread into the trailer. Barrow County fire officials said the blaze was under control by 5 a.m.

A tanker conveying cylinders filled with inflammable chemical exploded on the Lekki-Epe Expressway in the Shango- Tedo area of Lagos Friday morning.

An eyewitness alleged that a woman might have been killed in the explosion.

The fire service appears to have been prompt on the scene but there is no confirmation on casualties even though eye-witnesses confirm deaths.

Traffic was at a standstill.

Kutch, May 17 (PTI) One person was killed and two others injured when a fire broke out during unloading of chemical from a tanker at Kandla complex near the port, police said. "An inferno broke out when some chemical was being unloaded from a tanker at a terminal operated by a private firm Kesar Chemicals in Kandla complex near the port," they said. One person died and two others sustained injuries, officials said. Around ten fire fighters including those of Kandla port reached the site and brought fire under control, they said, adding the tanker and the terminal were damaged in the incident.

An explosion at the North Central West Virginia Airport burned one man so bad that he was flown to West Penn Hospital Wednesday morning.
 
Bridgeport Police say that two KCI Aviation employees were servicing an oxygen tank on a personal aircraft around 8:45 a.m. when something malfunctioned and caused a chemical explosion.

Barwani (MP), May 16 (PTI) Two persons were killed and 11 others were injured today in an explosion in a truck carrying chemicals at Balsamund Check Post, police said. The truck was on its way to Indore from Mumbai. The explosion took place as the driver had parked it at the post and gone out for clearing paper work. Thirteen persons, standing around the truck, were injured seriously. Deepak Pancholi and one Pal died. The rest were admitted to Barwani hospital, police said adding that cause of the fire was not yet known.

A chemical leak on board a container ship at Sydney's Port Botany has now been made safe.

The German-registered 34,600-tonne California Senator docked on Monday morning from Fremantle with a 1000-litre storage drum leaking nitric acid in the hold.

The ship's captain had called ahead on Sunday to warn authorities.

Firefighters scrambled aboard about 1am (AEST) to decant the contents of the drum and contain the leak.

"The container of nitric acid has now been made safe," Superintendent Ian Krimmer, from Fire and Rescue NSW, said on Monday afternoon.

"One ruptured container inside was located.

"Contents have all been emptied, all the contaminated products have been removed by a contractor.

LINCOLN, NEB. –  A collision involving two large trucks has spilled a hazardous chemical into Nebraska Highway 2 in Lincoln.

Lincoln fire captain Eric Jones told the Journal Star that a semi carrying 16 250-gallon tanks of boiler cleaner rear-ended a large flatbed truck Saturday afternoon. One of the tanks of cleaner ruptured and the chemical spilled onto highway.

The westbound lanes of the highway were closed Saturday afternoon as crews worked to contain the spill.

BOSTON (CBS) – The state Department Of Transportation has decided to ban trucks carrying hazardous materials, including gasoline and heating oil, from traveling through Boston between 6 a.m and 8 p.m.

Mayor Menino has been fighting for several years for a ban on hazmat trucks from city streets.

He calls the decision a victory for the people of Boston.

“Vehicles carrying hazardous materials through the City pose a significant public safety threat to residents of our effected neighborhoods, as well as to commuters and other daily visitors to Downtown Boston,” Menino’s statement said.

Trucks delivering to or picking up from Boston will still be allowed on the roads.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) will be prohibiting international shipments of devices containing lithium ion batteries starting May 16th. After coming to grips with serious financial problems last year, USPS has now decided that lithium batteries pose too great of a risk to be shipped overseas. Devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets will fall under this ban, but domestic shipment of these products will be unaffected.

USPS has revised its Domestic Mail Manual — an official document outlining shipment policies — after evaluating recent discussions by the International Civil Aviation Organiza­tion and the Universal Postal Union. Meanwhile, UPS and FedEx are not changing their stance on the matter, which isn't surprising considering how much money is involved. The international shipment of electronic goods is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the added risk associated with transporting devices with lithium batteries is a gamble these companies are willing to take. The only problem is that neither of these couriers will deliver to APO, FPO, or DPO addresses overseas, meaning that troops abroad will not be able to receive Kindles and iPads to fill the downtime between combat.

An outright ban on air-shipping lithium batteries may seem like an exaggerated response to this ambiguous problem, but there have been several plane crashes directly attributed to exploding lithium batteries in the last few years. There are two reasons why a lithium battery might experience a runaway thermal expansion, or explosion. The first reason lies with the battery's chemistry, and the second is contingent on physical or environmental stress.

A semi trailer burst into flames on the lot of a shipping service center in Salt Lake City on Thursday morning.

Firefighters say that when they arrived on scene of the fire, located near 1900 South Industrial Road (1900 West), at around 10 a.m., the semi was fully engulfed in flames.

Investigators say there was an acid spill during the truck’s previous run and the chemicals used to clean the spill combined, causing heat that ignited the fire. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze and no one was injured.

“The chemicals combined, produced a lot of heat and when the new load was put on, there’s a spontaneous combustion that produced a fire,” said Jason Asay, Salt Lake City Fire Dept.

A hazmat team was called in to clean up possible hazardous substances, but the cargo only contained packages of batteries and baby food.

The crew members of a container vessel had anxious moments following fire in a portion of the vessel, which was in the deep sea about 50 nautical miles away from the Mangalore coast. In a release, the Coast Guard said the situation was under control and the ship's crew members had been able to partially extinguish the fire.

The Coast Guard said its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received distress message from m.v. CAP Norte around 10 a.m. about fire in the vessel's cargo containers that contained 15 tonnes of polyamide sulphide chemical.

The Coast Guard's fast patrol vessel ICGS Savithri Phule was sent from the Mangalore coast and it reached the place around 1 p.m.

TUCSON - Reports of "blue powder," later determined to be an ammonia-based fertilizer, closed the Avra Valley Road on-ramp at Interstate 10 for about two hours this morning as hazmat teams stabilized the chemical and cleared the roadway.

At about 9 a.m. this morning, crews from the Northwest Fire District's Hazmat team were called to the I-10 on-ramp at Avra Valley Road after there was a report of "blue powder" falling on the roadway from a truck, according to a NWFD news release.

Crews responded and as they were cleaning the scene, two members felt burning in their throats. A Hazmat team arrived and tested the chemical to determine that it was an ammonia-based fertilizer. The Hazmat team, in protective gear, stabilized the chemical and reopened the roadway within two hours of the call.

Workers evacuated a Salt Lake City chemical company after thousands of gallons of acid spilled Friday afternoon, but no one was injured.

The nearly 2,000 gallon spill happened at Brenntag Pacific about 1:30 p.m., said Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Jasen Asay.

Fire crews responded to the accident at 2334 W. Directors Row (1100 S), just west of Interstate-215.

Asay said sulfuric acid spilled after two workers were unloading the chemical from a rail car outside the facility and there was a "problem with the hose."

About 10 people inside the building evacuated before fire crews arrived. It was the only building evacuated.

"They followed proper procedure and did the right thing," Asay said.

GALLIPOLIS FERRY — A chemical leak at the ICL-IP plant in Gallipolis Ferry led to a shelter-in-place order in surrounding areas, including across the Ohio River in Gallia County.

The leak occurred around 3:18 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

According to a press release from ICL America, Inc., the plant experienced an “emergency event” that involved the release of phosphorus trichloride liquid and hydrochloric acid fumes due to a pump failure.

The company says the liquid phosphorus trichloride release was contained on site, but the hydrochloric acid fumes left the site.

Point Pleasant Fire Chief Jeremy Bryant and his department were among the first responders dispatched to the scene. Bryant said it appeared the chemical cloud traveled north of the plant but appeared to dissipate near R and L Trucking along W.Va. 2.

The shelter-in-place order lasted around 30 minutes.

HOUSTON - An accident involving an overturned tanker truck caused the total closure of Interstate 10 east of Houston on Wednesday morning.

The crash could leave the interstate shut down in both directions for a couple days. The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office says the accident could be cleaned up sometime between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Authorities in Jefferson County say the truck wrecked at mile marker 833 between Winnie and FM 365, about 60 miles east of Houston. It was first reported around 7 a.m.

Hazmat was called in after the tanker spilled ethanol all over the roadway. Residents within a two mile radius were asked to evacuate or shelter-in-place along with a nearby high school.

A tractor-trailer rig leaked potassium hydroxide at West Side Choctaw Travel Plaza on Tuesday, according to the Durant Fire Department.

Firefighters were dispatched to the business at 11:32 a.m. and when they arrived, approximately 25 gallons of the chemical had leaked onto the parking lot, according to a fire department report. The leak was coming from a control valve under the trailer which had been repaired.

Firefighters were not able to stop the leak, so they put trash cans underneath it. The report stated that the chemical was spilling out at approximately 30 gallons per minute, and firefighters caught about 225 gallons with the trash cans.

A chemical clean-up company was called to clean up the scene and firefighters assisted the crew until leaving at 8:40 p.m.

LAS CRUCES - Ten to 15 gallons of an industrial solvent spilled out of the back of a tractor-trailer Wednesday afternoon at the TravelCenters of America truck stop at North Motel Boulevard.
A Las Cruces Fire Department hazmat team contained and stopped the leak, and there was no health risk to the public and no injuries were reported, Las Cruces Fire Department Lt. Michael Martinez said.
Las Cruces police responded, and directed traffic in the area while the hazmat team worked on the spill. An ambulance was also on standby. The dimethyl sulfoxide, a colorless liquid used in paint strippers and some medicines, spilled out of 55-gallon drum that had been stored in the back of the truck, Martinez said.

GLADSTONE, OR (KPTV) -
A milk tanker-truck crashed Sunday afternoon on Southeast 82nd Drive near Interstate 205, spilling about 100 gallons of milk on the roadway.

The truck was rounding the curve on the exit from Interstate 205 northbound to Southeast 82nd Drive when the milk in the rear trailer sloshed and caused it to tip.

The milk was considered a hazardous material because it was not pasteurized and therefore may have contained E. Coli.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — A big rig carrying flammable chemicals slammed into the center divider of Highway 680 near Pleasanton late Sunday, jackknifing and triggering a traffic slowdown that lasted for nearly seven hours, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Battalion Chief Jack Neiman-Kimel said the accident required the deployment of a hazmat team because included among the truck’s load was “a couple drums of some hazardous material. He has a drum of lithium and a drum of Trimethylgallium.”
Both chemicals are used in the production process of semiconductors and electric batteries and can catch fire when exposed to air.
Neiman-Kimel said about 100 gallons of diesel fuel did leak out of the truck and also had to be cleaned up.

GREER, S.C. --
A delivery truck driver in Greer was taken to the hospital after a package on the truck was leaking liquid.

The Greer Fire Department says the driver was overcome with fumes.

After investigating, Hazmat crews found the package contained a basic cleaning solven for paint.

The driver is out of the hospital and is reported to be fine.

Greer fire and police officials, as well as the Greenville Hazmat Team, were called to where the UPS truck was on Aaron Tippin Drive Thursday morning.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A truck driver unloading bleach from a 300-gallon plastic container was injured and most of the bleach was lost when the tank's pressure system malfunctioned and pumped bleach into the street, a fire official said Wednesday.
Acting Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph R. Desmarais said the solution of 12.5 percent bleach spilled on the leg of the driver for Roberts Chemical. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with an injury that was not life-threatening, Desmarais said.
The bleach was being pumped into Monarch Metal Finishing, 189 Georgia Ave, when the spill occurred at about 10:30 a.m., Desmarais said. Clean Harbors contained and removed bleach that spilled in the street, he said.

JOHOR BARU: A section of Km16 Jalan Johor Baru-Skudai had to be closed to traffic for three hours after two drums containing chemicals fell off a lorry.

The lorry was believed to be heading towards Johor Baru when the accident took place at around 9am yesterday.

Twenty-three firemen, including a hazmat (hazardous material) team from Taman Universiti Fire and Rescue Department, rushed to the site about 10 minutes later to retrieve the contents of the 1,800kg drums, believed to be sulphuric acid, which spilled onto the road.

Fire operations commander C. Kesavan said the drums were leaking when his men arrived.

PEKIN, Ill. —
Fire department personnel from Morton and Pekin and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency responded this morning to a spill of herbicide chemicals into a creek south of Morton that prompted road closings in the area.

A strong chemical odor was present about 1,000 feet from the area of Allentown Road between Baer Road and Fourth Street. Workers posted “Emergency Scene Ahead” signs on Baer Road between Morton and Tremont.

An agricultural spreader carrying about 1,200 gallons of herbicide chemicals tipped over into a creek, releasing an unknown amount of the herbicide, as well as oil and diesel fuel from the vehicle, into the water, according to a press release issued by Morton Fire Department Chief Joe Kelley.

Bartow, Florida -- An accident leading to an sulfuric acid spill shut down a major road in Polk County for several hours Tuesday, and the driver of the truck carrying those corrosive chemicals had to be airlifted to Tampa.

Hazmat workers, wearing protective suits, worked for hours neutralizing and then removing the acid, which had soaked the pavement and penetrated the soil along Highway 60 north of downtown Bartow.

A thousand gallons of the material somehow spilled from a flat-bed operated by Davis Supply out of Ft. Myers with an office in Lake Wales.

A chemical spill closed Highway 41 near Fish Camp on Sunday evening, and hazardous materials crews were headed to Yosemite National Park to clean it up, the California Highway Patrol said.

The spill occurred just before 5 p.m. when a tractor trailer started spilling 25-pound bags of powdered sulfur while driving toward Yosemite, CHP officer Doug Corbett said. In total, 600 bags of sulfur were spilled on the road.

The sulfur sparked a number of small fires on and next to the road, Corbett said.

All of the fires were extinguished, he said, but the highway remained closed Sunday night. Yosemite National Park also closed its Highway 41 gate, the CHP dispatch log said.

Corbett said that agencies involved in the cleanup hoped to have the roadway cleared of all of the sulfur before noon today.

The Chattanooga Fire Department was called to 38th Street and St. Elmo Avenue at Chattem Chemical to an overturned truck at 12:40 p.m.  Saturday. Upon arrival the Chattem Safety team members advised that the truck contained 5,000 gallons of Monochloroacetic acid, which is used to produce Glycine, a common food additive to human and pet foods.

The truck was apparently making a delivery and, while backing into the loading area, the truck jack-knifed and the Intermodal container slowly rolled over.

These-type containers are protected by an outer steel framework to safe-guard the contents.
The Chattanooga Fire Department Hazardous Materials team made entry to check for leaks. There was a small amount of the product that was leaking about a drop every 15-20 seconds from the upper manhole access. The storm drains were sealed to prevent possible contamination, and, as a result, none of the product made it to the drains.

PIKE TWP., Ohio — A massive blaze at an oil company took firefighters six hours to get under control Thursday and will require an extensive environmental cleanup.
...
The fire started about 11 a.m. as R.D. Holder crews loaded a semi-tanker, said company owner Bob Holder.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but King believed it ignited while workers transferred a fluid from one tank to another. It was not immediately known what type of fluid was being transferred.

After about 45 minutes, firefighters ordered first responders and company employees back as the blaze spread. Transformers exploded and electric lines fell on the scene about 12:45 p.m., forcing firefighters back even more. And as the fire spread, the building began to collapse.

CLARK COUNTY -- HAZMAT crews are cleaning up after a major fire at a fuel storage facility in Pike Township.

Investigators say the fire started with an explosion during a fuel transfer from a truck. The cause of that explosion is not yet known.

Some nearby houses were evacuated while fire fighters battled the flames, and other residents were advised to remain in their homes because of heavy smoke. All restrictions were lifted by Thursday evening.

La Salle Fire Department was called to the Carus Chemical plant inLa Salle at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

“They were unloading a product and there was an issue with a hose,” said fire chief Andy Bacidore. “Some of it fell on some combustibles and started smoldering.”

The chief estimated a small section of roof, about one square foot, was smoldering when firefighters arrived.

“We just needed to make sure there wasn’t any fire in the hose they were using to fill, and that there wasn’t anything burning in the truck,” Bacidore said.

Firefighters doused the small area and peeled back part of the roof to make sure nothing was burning underneath.

Peru firefighters also responded, through the departments’ auto aid agreement. Firefighters cleared the scene at about 3:20 p.m.

BROTHERS, Ore. -- A more than 60-mile stretch of Highway 20E east of Brothers was shut for hours and expected to stay closed or restricted to one lane for hours more Wednesday night after a semi tanker truck flipped onto its side and began to spill a possibly hazardous chemical.
Initial reports indicated the truck driver was banged up and had some shoulder and chest pain but was generally unhurt after the crash, reported around 7:50 p.m. in the area of milepost 50, about eight miles east of Brothers, near the intersection with Fredrick Butte Road, or more than 50 miles east of Bend.
Deschutes County dispatchers contacted Sherman Brothers, the Harrisburg, Ore. trucking company, as well as Chemtrec and the Idaho firm expecting the shipment. They at first were told a blue fluid seen coming from the 40-foot-long tanker could be an alkaline-based industrial cleaner or "surfactant," which can in some circumstances cause upper respiratory burns or superficial skin burns..

TEXAS CITY, Texas -
Monday marks a somber day in Texas history.

The SS Grandcamp exploded at the docks in Texas City, killing nearly 600 people, on April 16, 1947.

The ship was carrying ammonium nitrate when the explosion happened 65 years ago.

The crash destroyed the entire dock area along with Grain Warehouses, a nearby chemical company.

A semi-truck, traveling south on state Road 44 about five miles south of Manila, rolled spilling unknown amounts of a chlorite solution, and injuring the driver.
State Road 44, which connects from Highway 191 to Manila near Flaming Gorge, was shut down around 1:30 p.m. but was back open about an hour later, according to Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Rex Olsen.
The driver, the only person in the truck at the time, was taken by air ambulance to a Salt Lake City area hospital, according to Daggett County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Karen Peterson.
Peterson said the spill is “a type of toxin, but it's not explosive or hazardous in any type of fire, but it can harm if touched or inhaled.”
Uintah County Fire Marshall Jeremy Raymond said a hazmat crew was dispatched from Vernal to clean up a chlorite solution, “basically a bleach solution.”
UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson said 11-12 containers filled with the bleach solution spilled, and each was damaged in some way. Our reporter on scene said the containers could have been holding 300-500 gallons.
Johnson said the spill was “above a water source, but not in a water source,” and there was “no immediate threat...to a water source.”

A man was burned by chlorine gas Friday morning after the chemical leaked at a pool supply store near the US 41 bypass.

According to Sarasota County Fire Department Capt. Susan Pearson, at around 10 a.m., a tank on a chlorine truck suddenly released more than 30 gallons of the gas.

“They called in the calvary, but it wasn’t really an explosion,” Pearson said.

The worker was burned by the gas, Pearson said. She was not sure if he was the driver or an employee of the store, but was taken to Venice Memorial Hospital for treatment. No one else was injured, she said.

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — Broken Arrow police say a man was killed after a compressed natural gas tank exploded.

Police tell Tulsa television station KOTV ( http://is.gd/KZYj9k ) that the man was working on a pickup truck that had a CNG tank. Broken Arrow Police Sgt. Ed Ferguson says someone driving past a business in an industrial park spotted the man's body at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

Ferguson says it appears the tank exploded, killing the man.

Authorities say the explosion sent debris into the street and caused minor property damage.

The Charlottesville Fire and Rescue HAZMAT squad responded to a potential HAZMAT situation Thursday afternoon at 3:20 p.m. on McCormick Road outside the University Chapel, before declaring the scene all clear about an hour later.

University spokesperson Carol Wood said a student placed an emergency call after he discovered an abandoned biohazard bag on a University Transit Service bus and thought it might contain contaminants or other dangerous materials.

“We were thinking there might be a potential HAZMAT situation,” she said. “They have since determined it was just a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in the bag.”

Charlottesville Police Chief Charles Werner said the use of the biohazard bag was “inappropriate,” but said it ultimately posed no risk to health. “It was just because of the nature of the biohazard bag which made [the situation a cause] of concern,” he said.

Werner said the HAZMAT team gave the bag to University Environmental Health and Safety, which disposed of the contents.

The University and local emergency services took “every precaution” when responding to the situation, Wood said, especially because the bus had stopped “right in the middle of Grounds in a busy intersection” which students, faculty and visitors walk through frequently.

“You just don’t want to mess around with anything like this,” she said. “Everybody — the students and passengers, the bus driver, everybody — was taken off the bus.”

GEISMAR, LA (WAFB) -
Hazardous materials teams from the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Department and Louisiana State Police are monitoring a potential situation at Trimac Transportation on Highway 30 in Geismar.

Chief Deputy Tony Bacala with the Ascension Sheriff's Office says the hazmat crews have been staged on the trucking service property since Wednesday. Bacala says a tanker truck carrying acrylic acid is registering "too hot." If the acid gets to a certain high temperature, there is potential for an explosion.

Trimac spokesman Neil Voorhees says crews are waiting for the acrylic acid to stabilize, at which time they will introduce an inhibitor. Voorhees says some equipment and a limited number employees are still working at the facility.  

Bacala also says there is no immediate danger, and that he does not anticipate a problem. He says the hazmat crews are there as a precaution, and will likely be there for another 24 hours

Police were forced to deal with two separate truck rollovers on Greater Toronto Area highways Monday.

The first occurred when a tractor trailer overturned Monday morning on a ramp at Highway 401 and Warden Avenue in Toronto’s east end.

The truck was headed eastbound on Highway 401 when it tipped onto its side while exiting the highway around 11 a.m.The Ontario Provincial Police said that speed may have been a factor.

The driver suffered minor injuries.

CBC’s Jeff Semple reported that the truck was hauling a trailer with 20,000 litres of ferric sulfate, a highly corrosive and acidic liquid that is often used to treat wastewater.

A hazardous materials team was called in to deal with the cleanup. An unknown amount of the liquid was feared to have spilled out and leaked in the ground.

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines—A wayward chemical tanker whose driver had fallen asleep sideswiped three vehicles before finally crashing into a row of houses, causing a brief fire in Dasmariñas City in Cavite early Tuesday, police said.
According to Superintendent Ulysses Cruz, Dasmariñas police chief, the driver of the tanker lost control of the vehicle, which sideswiped another truck, a car and a van, all of which were at the Pala-pala junction and all headed towards Tagaytay City, at around 1:30 a.m.
The tanker stopped when it hit three houses on the side of the road. A fire broke out but firefighters were able to put it out after around 30 minutes.
The ten-wheel tanker, which police said belonged to the Absolute Chemicals Inc., carried food-grade alcohol used in the manufacture of liquor.

PHILLIPSBURG – The Police Department and Fire Department responded to Riverside Way for a report of a white substance, later identified as aluminum trihydrate, that spilled on the roadway around noon on Wednesday, April 4, police said.
According to police, the county Hazmat team also responded and determined that it was a non-hazardous substance. The material had spilled from a truck from Sunswept Transport of Bel-Air, Maryland, police said.
According to police, the substance had been delivered to Gulbrandsen and residual substance had spilled on the ground. The residual substance was removed by personnel from Gulbrandsen under the direction of the Warren County Health Department.

A no-go zone has been set up at Lyttelton port after a major chemical spill from a container on-board a vessel.

Christchurch firefighters were called about 7.30am to help decontaminate the vessel berthed at Lyttelton Port.

The port said the fire brigade and harbour master were this afternoon co-coordinating the cleanup of the "class 8 hazardous substance" on the vessel.

However, they have not said what the substance was, nor named the vessel. The Ministry for the Environment defines a class 8 substance as "corrosive".

A statement from the port's operations manager Paul Monk said the container had now been removed was now in a washbay for further cleanup.

SAN ANTONIO -- Hazmat units responded to a hydrochloric acid leak in the northbound lanes of I-10 west near DeZavala Road late Tuesday afternoon.
The roadway was still closed Wednesday morning although it was originally suspected to reopen around 2 a.m. Traffic is being diverted to the access road and also to Huebner Road to Vance Jackson to DeZavala Road and back to I-10 west.
A spokesman for TxDOT said they are unsure how long it could take to clear the roadway, and that unsuspected setbacks have delayed the cleanup.
The spill occurred after an 18-wheeler hauling the acid was involved in a major accident near Woodstone. 
The concern is that if the leak is not contained in time, that 3,000 gallons of the acid could eat the highway.  That could be a costly consequence and a threat to public health.

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. - The Henderson County Sheriff’s office says both directions of Interstate 26 in Henderson County are closed following an accident involving a tanker Tuesday night.
A Sheriffs dispatcher tells News 4 the tanker that was carrying sulfuric acid when it crashed and caught fire near East Flat Rock and mile marker 56.

Hazmat crews are on scene and working to secure the area, but that process could take hours.

Officials say the road may be open again by noon.

Evacuations were order for homes within a mile and half of the accident. The Western Carlolinas chapter of the Red Cross set up a shelter at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville. Red Cross officials say 2 people showed up to the shelter so it has been closed.

Drivers headed out on Interstate 26 in Henderson County are asked to use the following detour:

Westbound: Use Exit 59, and proceed onto US 176 West. Motorists with then take US 25 North and back onto I-26 West at exit 54.

Eastbound:Use Exit 54 onto US 25 South and proceed into South Carolina. Motorists will then take South Carolina Highway 11 East back onto I-26 East.

The Highway Patrol said the Green River bridge will need to be inspected for damage before it is reopened.

Continue to refresh this page for updates.

Tragedy is often the impetus for change. 

By many accounts, the death of four Norwich firefighters during an explosion in 1962 had ripple effects that reverberated across the country —  leading to improved safety standards for first responders and major changes in the way hazardous materials are labeled, shipped and handled.

Today, vehicles carrying hazardous materials are required by federal law to have placards  — color-coded, diamond-shaped signs with numbers and symbols. In the event of an emergency, such as a fire, first responders need only consult a guidebook for general information about just how dangerous any cargo is.

 There was no such law in place on the afternoon of April 3, 1962, when Norwich firefighters responded to reports of a truck fire at the Van Tassel warehouse on Forest Street.

“This is the Van Tassel Leather Co. on Forest St. We have a truck on fire, loaded with explosives,” was the call to the fire department.

Thomas LaFreniere, 83, who was seriously injured in the explosion that was to come, said firefighters knew there were explosives on board, but not much else.

“The dispatcher said, ‘Be careful,’ ” LaFreniere said. “But our job is to extinguish the fire. When they’re running out, we’re running in.”

The subsequent explosion leveled parts of the warehouse and shattered glass windows for miles — and claimed the lives of four of the firefighters at the scene. There was an immediate outcry at the local and state levels for better regulations from the city and state after the investigation into the cause.

Norwich Fire Marshal Kenneth Scandariato said that in the 1960s, there were certain chemicals known to be volatile, but the type of response needed in a situation like Van Tassel was not well-understood.
“They were being classified from a compositional perspective, but not for safety,” Scandariato said. “There were very few training bulletins — procedures for fire departments to prepare for hazardous materials response.

“We didn’t have the equipment, the training or the organization we have today,”  he said. “Many of those things came from the Van Tassel tragedy and other incidents that began to raise attention and alarm.”

Major Carroll E. Shaw, the deputy state fire marshal in 1962, reported the load carried by the truck in question was organic peroxides —  a mix of benzoyl peroxide, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide and others shipped in wet and dry forms.

Shaw wrote that the load, was “extremely sensitive to shock, blows and impact,” and likely shifted during the 600-mile trip to Norwich from Buffalo, N.Y.

LIGONIER — Nearly 200,000 pounds of molten sulfur leaking from a derailed Norfolk Southern train car threaten a wetland area that empties into the Little Elkhart River. As of right now, officials say the impact on waterways appears to be minimal.

Around 4:40 a.m. 21 cars of the 59-car train derailed in the area of 1100 West 900 North, northwest of Ligonier. There were no injuries. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

Dave Pigeon, Norfolk Southern spokesman at the scene, told WSBT the eastbound train left Elkhart en route to Bellevue, Ohio.

VILLAGERS in Annesley Woodhouse were told to stay in their homes for several hours after a large blaze involving a chemical-filled container.

The fire started at the Collins Earthworks firm on an industrial estate off Park Lane, Kirkby on Friday March 23.

A tanker containing calcium carbonate (quicklime) is thought to have overheated and caught fire.

Residents were told to keep their windows and doors shut until lunchtime on Saturday March 24 because of fears surrounding fumes from the blaze.

A section of the MI between junction 27 at Annesley and junction 28 at Mansfield was closed from 5.30 pm last Friday, causing chaos during the rush hour. The road re-opened at 8.15 pm.

Pardubice, East Bohemia, March 29 (CTK) - The extensive fire that burst out in the Synthesia chemical plant complex early this morning fortunately injured no one but it caused an estimated damage worth up to 25 million crowns, local firefighters and police spokespersons told CTK.

The fire started around 4:00 in consequence of an accident in the premises belonging to Rekla, a company that handles mineral oils and is seated in the Synthesia complex.

Fifteen firefighter units, professional and voluntary, tackled the fire and its aftermath for about three hours, Synthesia spokeswoman Jaroslava Dolezalova told CTK.

The police and firemen will now start enquiring into the cause of the accident.

The fire injured no one, nor did it endanger the environment, Dolezalova said.

The firefighters originally said poisonous substances had leaked in the air and called on the residents of Pardubice, the regional centre with a population of 90,000, not to open the windows and not to leave their homes unless urgently necessary.

Dismissing the information, Dolezalova said expert measurements have not registered any leak of poisonous fumes.

The fire started at an oil processing line and spread to two halls that serve as oils store, causing several explosions and destroying two lorries, said Vendula Horakova, regional fire squad's spokeswoman.

NOBLE COUNTY, Ind. (WANE/AP) - UPDATE:  Norfolk Southern has brought in specialists to evaluate the train derailment near Ligonier.  Crews will now smother the burning train cars with clean soil.  Once it's completely out, they'll dispose of the dirt and remove the cars.  They say this will help control the chemical so it doesn't leak into the air or nearby river.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A tanker truck accident caused a hazardous material emergency in Spartanburg County early Monday, but EMS officials said they considered it a low-level hazmat situation.
The incident was first reported about 8 a.m. on Dogwood Club Road at South Port Road, according to the Highway Patrol website. This is near the fuel terminals in the Camp Croft area.
Spartanburg County Emergency Management representative said a tanker truck hauling hydrogen peroxide had a valve that was leaking.

Numerous vehicles carrying poisonous or even potentially deadly chemicals travel through Butler County daily, but not every accident involving these hazardous materials is reported to the Emergency Management Agency, county and state officials say.
A study of procedures at county and state agencies shows that there is not always a uniform way of reporting accidents involving hazardous material. Some don’t get reported at all.
A tally of hazardous material responses by the Butler County EMA totaled 15 in 2011. However, the number of actual hazardous materials incidents likely more than doubles that number, at about 36, said Jeff Galloway, the executive director of the agency.
“We need to come up with a better reporting system,” he said. “This report has 15 calls, but there were a lot more than that.”
That’s because fire departments will sometimes respond to smaller incidents that don’t warrant a response from the county hazmat team, Galloway said, adding, “There is no clear set database that enters all the calls.”

PARK COUNTY, Colo. — U.S. 285 was closed about 10 miles south of Fairplay in Park County Friday night because a truck’s trailer crashed and then spilled its load.
A 2002 Dodge pickup truck was heading north on Hwy. 285 shortly before 6 p.m. when the trailer detached and overturned, according to Colorado State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mike Baker.
The trailer spilled about 10,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate. The substance is often used in fertilizer and it can act as an irritant if inhaled.The spill has not endangered any water supplies and it has not required any evacuations.

MUMBAI: Seven persons including three foreign crew were injured when a fire broke out following an explosion on board a Korean chemical freighter at Mumbai harbour today.

Two of the injured are reported to be serious, Mumbai Port Trust officials said.

"At 11.25 am, the Korean owned 9500 DWT chemical tanker Royal Diamond 7 reported to the Mumbai port's vessel traffic system/control station that an explosion had occurred and three crew members have been injured," an MPT press statement said.

Oak Lawn, IL —
All three lanes of southbound Interstate 294 remain closed during rush hour as crews offload an acid spill caused by a tanker truck rollover on the highway near Oak Lawn.

The truck was carrying thousands of pounds of hydrochloric acid about 1:30 p.m. when it rolled between the Cicero Avenue and 95th Street exits on Interstate 294. The southbound lanes and one northbound lanes will be closed until about 7 p.m., state police said.

TIPTON COUNTY, Ind. -- U.S. 31 in Tipton County was closed for several hours Tuesday after a crash involving at truck carrying cleaning products.
Police said a tractor-trailer rear-ended a box truck that was stopped at the railroad tracks on U.S. 31 at Division Road on Tuesday morning.
The highway was closed in both directions as a precaution in case any of the cleaning chemicals in the truck had mixed, creating a possibly hazardous situation, police said.
Some chemicals could be seen leaking from the truck. A hazardous chemical team from the Kokomo Fire Department was called in to assess the situation.

A woman burned by the leaked chemical tells 13News that the driver of the semi noticed it spilling and asked for cat litter to be tossed on top.

When that happened, the chemical started "boiling."

"I've never seen anything fizz like that," said Kasandra Beckett. She had burns to her fingers that she was treated and released for.

Nearby homeowners were asked to leave but there was no forced evacuation in place.

As to why something like this would happen, Ripley Fire Chief David Brubaker had only the theory of the truck driver.

"One of the straps must have come loose," said Brubaker. "That's why it was leaking out of the back.

Lasting injuries could include breathing issues.

UPDATE

A tractor-trailer carrying the chemical Barchlor started leaking late this morning, according to officials in Jackson County. The chemical is not harmful unless it comes into contact with skin, or if it's inhaled in vapor form. The leaking chemical is in liquid form.

No shelter-in-place has been issued because of the leak, officials said. Six people were contaminated, but they have been treated.

A crew of a nearby chemical plant is on the way to the scene to assess the situation and advise how it should be handled.

DANVERS — The explosions that woke those in Ann Marie Ruotolo's house on Bates Street early Saturday morning turned out to be tires popping on two burning box trucks parked at Harvey Industries on nearby Water Street.
...
The explosions could be heard in neighboring Peabody, Ruotolo said.

"I heard two big ones and a few littler ones," said police Sgt. Robert Bettencourt, who lives in Peabody not far from Danversport.

The burning trucks were parked in front of the building products warehouse at 125 Water St., and the fire was reported at 5:01 a.m., Bettencourt said. The trucks were parked in front of the building just off Water Street, which is behind the headquarters of the Pelletier and Milbury Corp. construction company.

The fire appears to have started in a portable forklift mounted at the back of one of the box trucks.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. --
Hazmat officials responded to a ammonia leak on the 15000 block of Farm Creek Drive in Woodbridge on Friday, police said.

A pressurized 4-feet-tall, 150 pound ammonia cylinder fell off a truck at 1:32 p.m. and caused a small leak, according to Prince William Fire and Rescue Hazmat Coordinator Matt Adkins.

The neck of the cylinder broke on impact as it landed on the road.  Hazmat officials utilized various tools, such as air quality meters, to ensure the area was safe, officials said.

Adkins said that the low amount of ammonia released did not pose an explosion or other threat to area residents.  Those who lived near the incident were asked to remain where they were instead of evacuating, he added

A chemical tanker caught fire on Saturday at 11.30 am following an explosion that occurred at the deck of the tanker. The Royal Diamond 7 was berthed at New Pir Pau berth, a chemical jetty belonging to the Mumbai Port Trust, to discharge a consignment of 2,000 tonnes of Toulene imported by Aegis Chemicals Ltd. The Marshal Island Flag Korean that owns the tanker from Singapore had berthed in the jetty on Saturday.

After completing cargo discharge operations, it was carrying out the stripping move for sailing out when the fire erupted. The Port Fire Service personnel put its fire fighting systems into operation to douse the flames. Three crew-members of the vessel got injured and were rushed to a nearby hospital. "The vessel is set to be removed from the jetty to a safer location in the harbour shortly," said Chief PRO VR Joglekar.

ILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- A scare at a Wilmington business this morning. Jugs of liquid found in a shipping container led to an evacuation, while police, US Customs and even Homeland Security got involved.
...
"We started looking at the manifest bill of lading. This particular container was not listed on the bill of lading on the manifest, and we became concerned, and obviously US Customs became concerned as well," Wilmington Fire Department Battalion Chief Jimmy Casteen said.

The hazmat team was able to remove a sample of the liquid from the jugs, which they tested on site to determine what exactly was in them. Turns out, it's not a threat. The liquid appears to be a type of finishing product used on wicker furniture. The fire department says it likely was locked up accidentally in the shipping container in Indonesia and shipped overseas.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - One lane of Interstate 70 at state Route 256 reopened early Friday morning following a Thursday evening Hazmat cleanup.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a commercial vehicle spilled a cleaning agent onto the road shortly after 6 p.m.

Two lanes of the highway were closed for about four hours.

Traffic was being diverted to S.R. 256, and the ramps to I-70 east from Brice Road and S.R. 256 also were closed, 10TV News reported.

Ohio Department of Transportation officials said that the cleaning agent damaged the pavement, and crews were working to make repairs.

...
Stolt Valor is a chemical tanker carrying approximately 13,000 metric tons of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which is used to increase oxygen content in gasoline throughout the U.S., to reduce carbon monoxide and ozone levels caused by auto emissions. MTBE is considered soluble, but not biodegradable.

Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Battle Watch Officer reported the incident to the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center (MEMAC), which dispatched tugs with fire fighting capability to the scene.

U.S. 5th Fleet's Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) contacted Stolt-Nielsen Limited to establish a line of communication between the military and the shipping company's crisis response team. The environmental impact is unknown at this time.

Stolt Nielsen issued a statement saying:

"Stolt Tankers B.V., a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen Limited and operators and owners of MT Stolt Valor, confirm that the vessel suffered an explosion on board whilst transiting the Persian Gulf.

"A Coalition warship is presently on site and is providing assistance. We understand that 24 of the 25 crewmembers are safe and on board the Coalition vessel. One crewmember is currently missing. Families of all the crew are being contacted as a matter of urgency.

"Stolt is working in close cooperation with the authorities on site in order to establish the whereabouts of our missing seafarer and the condition of the vessel."

AJMAN — Three of the five cleaning and maintenance workers who had been battling for life after inhaling toxic chemical fumes during a fire in an oil tanker at Ajman Port last week have succumbed to the inside burns in a hospital here, taking the death toll in the incident to six.
Three workers had died on the spot in the fire on the Sallalah while five were rushed to Khalifa Hospital. Three of them who had suffered third degree burns died in the last two days.

Salih Al Junaibi, Deputy Director of Khalifa Hospital, said the workers were brought to the hospital in very critical conditions, as they had third degree burns inside due to inhaling fumes from the strong chemical which they used to clean the ship.

KYSERIKE — You’ve heard of three-alarm vindaloo chicken?
A package containing some “very potent” Indian spices caused alarms to go off at the Rondout middle and high schools when the driver of a FedEx delivery truck had a reaction to a broken package containing the spices while making a delivery at the campus Monday morning.
Both schools kept students from going outside while a county hazmat team, emergency responders and firefighters assessed the situation. The incident was reported at about 10:15 a.m.; the all-clear signal was given about two hours later, according to Undersheriff Frank Faluotico.
The fumes from the package apparently triggered what Faluotico called a “medical condition” in the driver. She was treated at the scene, he said.
Faluotico said that, if nothing else, the incident provided a good opportunity for emergency training.

LORENCE, S.C. --
The ramp to I-20 toward Columbia, exit 160-B on I-95 southbound in Florence, was shut down at about 1 p.m.  Monday because of an overturned tanker, according to Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Collins said the West Florence Fire Department assessed the chemical situation with the tanker. The Florence County Hazmat team also was called to the scene, according to the fire department. The fire department said the liquid is highly flammable and corrosive material. Vapors from the chemical can form and the chemical is explosive when mixed with air.

Emergency crews were pushed a half-mile back from the accident, and the driver was taken to a local hospital. 

(Westmoreland, CA) -- Part of State Route 86 north of Brawley remains closed Friday evening, as of 4:30 pm (PST), as crews continue cleaning-up a crash involving dangerous chemicals.

The California Highway Patrol says at 6:30 Friday morning, a big rig and pick-up truck collided.

The northbound lane near Allen Road was closed because of toxic chemicals inside the big rig.

ABBEVILLE -- Hazmat crews, police and firefighters are working a train derailment right in the city of Abbeville.

There is an evacuation order for a half mile from the where the CSX cars went off the tracks just before 5 a.m. We're told the accident reportedly happened at the intersection of Redd and Haigler Streets. A Command Center has been set up on the 100 block of North Main Street.

The Associated Press is reporting ten homes have been evacuated so far.

Mason Speer, Fire Chief for the City of Abbeville, says there were a number of cars carrying ethanol and some of empty tankers. Right now, there's no word on if any spilled out, but some cars did overturn. Speer says hazmat crews will determine if any ethanol leaked out.

NEWELL – The rollover of a tractor-trailer owned by Packers Logistics out of Kieler, Wis., closed part of Highway 7 just east of Newell in Buena Vista County Wednesday.

The Newell Fire Department, Buena Vista County Emergency Management, Buena Vista County Environmental Health and Zoning, and the DNR have been on site since early this morning.

The accident threw at least three chemical products into the ditch causing the containers to leak or rupture. They include three 55-gallon drums of phosphoric acid, three to five 275-gallon plastic containers of sodium and potassium hydroxide mix, and one 55-gallon drum of chlorine bleach.

"Fortunately, there have been no injuries and the chemicals do not appear to have impacted state waters," said Ken Hessenius, supervisor of the Spencer DNR field office.

An 18-wheeler hauling a flammable and potentially hazardous chemical has overturned in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10. The accident site is near the downtown Beaumont exit.

Beaumont Fire Captain Earl White said that the driver picked up a load of tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene or perc) from Lake Charles, La.

Approximately 20 gallons of the chemical has been contained by Beaumont Hazmat, but it is the responsibility of the trucking company to clean up the spill, said Officer Carol Riley with Beaumont Police Department.

LOWER POTTSGROVE — A recycling truck’s crew got a scare during their rounds Monday after a distinct chemical odor and a white “cloud” emerged from their truck’s back while it was compacting a load.
Caution tape surrounded the red J.P. Mascaro truck at the top of a hill on Deer Ridge Drive near Quail Lane around 2 p.m. Monday. The displaced crew stood together around a Mascaro pickup truck just inside the tape. “They picked up some (stuff) in the neighborhood and with some kind of container with a chemical in it,” Lt. Mike Foltz of the Lower Pottsgrove Police said. “They smelled this chemical’s fumes, there was a cloud and they called it in.” The Sanatoga and Ringing Hill Fire Companies responded to the call. Fire police blocked off most of the street, although residential traffic was allowed to move through the area not taped off, which consisted of the area between Quail Way and Laurel Way.

The southbound Interstate 5 at McBean Parkway was closed temporarily Sunday after a truck containing fuel overturned on the freeway, according to officials.

For an unsubstantiated reason, a 2000 Freightliner truck crashed into an embankment and overturned, coming to a rest on its left side at about 1 p.m. according to a statement for the California Highway Patrol. The highly pressurized liquid-petroleum-gas tank it was pulling released some of its contents in gas form.

California Highway Patrol officers, Los Angeles County firefighters and hazmat trucks responded to the crash, and closed Interstate 5 for 50 minutes, Officer Tatiana Sauquillo said.

Dupo, IL (KSDK) --The St. Clair County hazmat team was called to a Dupo rail yard Sunday to clean up chemicals leaking from a Union Pacific rail car.

Crews thought they had stopped the leak on Saturday but it started up again overnight.

The car was leaking hydrogen fluoride, which can be dangerous if it's released in a cloud or comes in contact with the skin.

Dupo Mayor Ron Dell says there was no need to worry. But he is concerned about how long it took Union Pacific hazmat crews to notify Dupo police.

"There was about an hour and a half to two hour lapse before we found out about it," said mayor Dell. "We want to meet with the railroad to find out why we weren't notified originally."

The leak has been sealed. The chemicals were moved to another container.

SHREWSBURY —  A fuming package at United Parcel Service at Routes 140 and 20 burned itself out without incident yesterday afternoon, fire officials said.

Fire Capt. Seth Colby said workers inside the facility were loading a trailer when they noticed a package emitting fumes.

Capt. Colby said UPS workers detached the trailer from the building and pulled it into the yard near the Route 20 side of the facility, near Flynn’s Truck Plaza.

He said the corrosive agent in the package emitted vapors and generated heat, but firefighters did not have to put out any flames. He said that because the package was corroded by the substance, he could not say what was in it. He said the package had been headed to another UPS facility.

Firefighters arrived about 2:30 p.m. and left around 4:30. Fire officials called for a Tier 1 statewide hazardous materials response. They said there were no injuries.

Capt. Colby said UPS hired Clean Harbors, an environmental cleanup company, to clean out the trailer. Tests will be performed to determine the cause of the exothermic reaction, meaning a chemical reaction that releases heat.

MAULDIN, SC (FOX Carolina) -
A blue-colored glue spilled out of a tractor trailer Monday night, affecting traffic on a popular Mauldin road.

Mauldin Fire Chief Russell Sapp said a police officer noticed the liquid coming from the back of the truck, which was traveling on Main Street, and pulled it over in a parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Butler Road. He said that was when the driver discovered a 55 gallon drum of a substance called Adhesin had been knocked over.

Sapp said part of the parking lot of the shopping center and a lane of Butler Road were closed until a crew could clean up the spill. He said the chemical is not hazardous, but it will take several hours to clean up.

Drivers who may have driven through the chemical can call the Mauldin Fire Department on Tuesday for instructions on how to clean it off their car, Sapp said.

MUKILTEO, Wash. – A propane tank has exploded near a construction site near Mukilteo, injuring five people.

Snohomish County Fire District spokesman Leslie Hynes said a 1,000 gallon tank was being loaded on a truck to be taken from the construction site when it blew up Thursday. Five people were being transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Witnesses reported hearing explosions about 11 a.m. that rattled windows.

Mukilteo School District officials say the explosion was about a mile from Picnic Point Elementary. Authorities warned those at the school that debris may still be in the air nearby. Students would not be allowed outside onto the playfields.

SEATTLE -- Seattle Fire Department hazmat crews are cleaning up about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled when a locomotive derailed near the Magnolia neighborhood early Thursday.